Hong Kong - Police in Hong Kong said Thursday they had arrested nine people in connection with a prostitution racket operating out of top-end hotels in the city.

Six women from mainland China were arrested in two hotels and three other people, including two suspected ringleaders, were arrested in a raid on a nearby flat, a police spokesman said.

The ring is believed to have been bringing prostitutes to Hong Kong from mainland China on visitor or tourist visas in recent weeks and setting them up in smart hotel rooms to entertain clients.

Adverts were placed on the internet and clients were invited to visit the women at the hotels, the spokesman said. A surveillance operation was set up when hotel staff tipped off police.

Most prostitutes in Hong Kong, a wealthy city of seven million, come from neighbouring southern China where living standards are still much lower despite recent economic advances.

thanks for the heads up, not really scared tho