Three individuals involved in managing sex-for-sale apartments where trafficked women worked have been sentenced to over 20 years in prison collectively. Xiao Min, 38, Qin Huang, 31, and Guolei Huang, 35, were apprehended during Operation Fasthold, a joint investigation by Police Scotland and the Home Office.
The criminal network exploited women, primarily from East Asia, forcing them into prostitution across Glasgow, Edinburgh, and other UK cities. Sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow, Min received eight and a half years, Qin Huang eight years, and Guolei Huang four years and three months.
Prosecutor Greg Farrell detailed the extensive criminal enterprise that involved arranging, recruiting, and facilitating prostitution, including transporting and harboring the victims. The organization used fake identities to lease flats for brothels, generating substantial financial profits. The court was informed that £200,000 had been spent on advertisements on the Viva Street adult site by a so-called "business agency."
Qin Huang was directly involved in managing the daily operations of the women and properties, as well as organizing online advertisements. Guolei Huang acted as a "minder," while Min played a supervisory role in renting the properties. In February 2020, police discovered a flat in Dennistoun functioning as a brothel, leading to a raid where Guolei Huang and a trafficked woman were found.
Additional brothels were uncovered in Glasgow's Garnethill, Dennistoun, and Port Dundas, and in Edinburgh's Old Town. In May 2021, Qin Huang was found to be operating another premises for sexual exploitation in Townhead, and there was a further flat in Kelvinbridge.
The court heard testimonies from five trafficked women. Some were in debt in China, others were recruited through casinos or had their passports confiscated. The defense highlighted the financial and immigration struggles of the accused. Min had entered the UK illegally and incurred debt, while Qin Huang was a failed asylum seeker on benefits. Guolei Huang had been arrested previously in Liverpool and claimed not to know the co-defendants.
Prosecutors are pursuing Serious Crime Prevention Orders to monitor the trio’s activities post-release. A hearing to finalize these orders is scheduled for next month.