Brothel Exposed

Chinese Women Forced into Sex Work in Linz

The Chinese women were “placed” with clients in hotels and apartments.(Bild: Dmitri Maruta)

Illegal brothels are repeatedly being uncovered in Upper Austria, especially in Linz. This time, investigators were able to look a little deeper into the perpetrators’ schemes and uncover how the victims were smuggled into the country and forced into sex work. In this case, the victims were almost exclusively Chinese women.

The investigation began with a coordinated crackdown by the City Police Command and the Linz City Council aimed at curbing illegal prostitution in apartments and hotels within the city of Linz.
During the operation, an illegally operated massage parlor in Linz was uncovered, where several women were found who were not authorized to reside in Austria. The majority of the women were Chinese nationals who were also forced to provide illegal sexual services.

Fellow Countrymen as Perpetrators
It soon became clear that this was a case of large-scale human trafficking, as a significant amount of cash, several cell phones, and computers containing data were also seized. Further investigations corroborated the suspicion that other Chinese nationals had been trafficking their female compatriots on a large scale. They are accused of forcing the women into sex work in Austria and Germany. The women crossed the border primarily using false or forged documents and with the help of smugglers via the Serbia-Italy route and then on to Austria or Central Europe.

Women Lured by Debt
The women, who were heavily in debt in their home country and already intimidated, were lured to Austria under the pretext that they could earn a lot of money by working in Chinese restaurants to pay off their debts. After their organized entry, the destitute women had their passports confiscated and were offered nothing but a path into illegal prostitution. Several Chinese nationals have since been arrested and charged with pimping, cross-border prostitution trafficking, perjury, money laundering, and document forgery.