Police raid camp housing 68 girls

SERANG, Banten: Police here raided on Friday an accommodation building, where they found at least 68 underaged girls, who were allegedly waiting to be smuggled overseas as commercial sex workers.

The raided camp, located in Kramat Watu subdistrict in Banten province, used to be a factory building.

The raid followed a tip-off from local residents who told the Serang police that the building harbored dozens of girls slated to be dispatched to Taiwan, Malaysia, Japan, the U.S. and Europe as illegal workers.

Serang Police chief Comr. Adeni Mohan said many frightened girls tried to escape when the raid took place.

Two Taiwanese nationals, identified as only Mr Wang and Mrs Tien, were among those apprehended at the camp, he said.

Mohan said the police were intensively investigating the two Taiwanese and three of the girls. --Antara