Washington Prostitution Bust Yields 110 Arrests After 20 Brothels Had Been Shut Down

Law enforcement in Bellevue, Washington, a suburb of Seattle, arrested 110 people Friday afternoon in a week-long prostitution sting. "Operation on Demand" involved undercover detectives setting up online ads as well as a downtown condominium to lure sex buyers.

The sting comes after nearly 20 brothels had been shut down in the past two years.

“A year ago, the Bellevue Police Department and the King County Sheriff’s Office dismantled a large scale human trafficking ring,” Bellevue Police Chief Steve Mylett said in a press release. “This operation is a continuation of our effort to eradicate human trafficking crimes. We will continue to devote our combined resources to combat this plague.”

"Operation on Demand" involved 60 police officers. According to KOMO, the ABC affiliate in Seattle, police were "blown away" by the number of arrests.

“We were probably getting several dozen hits on several ads at any one time,” said Bellevue Police Captain Marcia Harnden. “We had people circling the area, the address.”

In "Operation on Demand," undercover detectives exchanged explicit text messages with potential buyers and used websites like CityVibe, Backpage, Eros to lure in suspects. Police said that most paid in cash, but a few tried to pay with a credit card. Along with the 110 arrests, 105 cars were impounded, along with two motorcycles and one bicycle.

Some suspects were charged in court Friday. Patronizing a prostitute in Washington is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

According to the Seattle Times, there were two major police operations over the past two years involving the Asian sex trade. One involved "prostituted women from South Korea," while the other was "an organized crime ring that trafficked Chinese nationals in the local sex trade."​