The recent crackdown on online prostitution rings has uncovered social media groups with tens of thousands of male members seeking illicit services.

A common trait of these dismantled operations is their activity on the social media platform Telegram, where ring leaders frequently post provocative photos and videos to attract clients.

Nevertheless, these “pimps” and “madams” are now facing the consequences of their illegal acts after being unmasked by law enforcement.

Recently, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court sentenced Nguyen Huu Thai (27, residing in Tan Phu District) to 12 years in prison for "procuring prostitution" and 3 years for "spreading obscene materials," totaling a 15-year prison term.

According to the indictment, in early 2024, police raided Bros Hotel (Nguyen Cu Trinh Ward, District 1) and caught two couples engaged in prostitution. Testimonies from both the sex workers and clients pointed to Thai as the broker.

The investigation revealed that since June 2022, Thai had been using unregistered phone numbers to create accounts and search for women willing to sell sex. Once he established contact, Thai created seven Telegram groups, where he uploaded provocative images, names, ID numbers, birth years, height, weight, body measurements, explicit videos, and the sex service prices.

Membership in the groups cost 2 million VND (about $78), while those who didn’t join but wanted to view the sex workers' images had to send 500,000 VND (about $20).

Clients who selected a sex worker would contact Thai to negotiate prices, which ranged from 5 to 6 million VND ($195 to $235) per session, and 10 to 15 million VND ($390 to $585) for overnight services.

At the time of inspection, Thai’s seven Telegram groups had a combined total of 65,978 members.

Investigators estimated Thai had illicitly earned around 15 billion VND (nearly $585,000) from his prostitution brokering and group membership fees.

A prostitution 'ecosystem' in Da Nang

On April 15, police in Da Nang arrested Nguyen Truong Anh Tuan (40, residing in Hoa Hai Ward, Ngu Hanh Son District), another alleged pimp.

Using the Telegram app, Tuan created an "ecosystem" of secret groups and pages such as “Lan Que Phuong Da Nang,” “Lan Que Phuong Chat,” and “Da Nang Love Market” to advertise sex workers.

These images, provided by the sex workers themselves, were meant to engage potential clients. Tuan’s Telegram groups attracted tens of thousands of members.

At the police station, Tuan admitted he had launched the “Lan Que Phuong” group in 2022, which had since grown to nearly 15,000 members.

Over time, Tuan had connected with more than 300 sex workers to operate within his network.

Each transaction ranged from 500,000 VND to 5 million VND ($20 to $195). After every successful service, the sex workers had to pay Tuan between 500,000 VND and 2 million VND ($20 to $78).

From 2022 to now, the total transaction volume generated through the “Lan Que Phuong” group amounted to several tens of billions of VND - equivalent to millions of dollars.

Meanwhile, in Nam Dinh, in December 2024, local police dismantled an online prostitution ring operating via Telegram in Nam Dinh City and surrounding provinces.

The investigation identified Do Hoang Nam as the mastermind. Nam had infiltrated secret, obscene content groups on social media and lured sex workers into joining his brokering network.

He operated under an anonymous Telegram account, posting ads in these groups to connect sellers with buyers.

Nam sourced women willing to engage in prostitution and negotiated prices. He would then post provocative photos along with contact information in private groups, charging 500,000 VND ($20) per listing.

Thanh Phuong