By 
GHRD Research Team
Sora Shimazaki, September 29th, 2020
The current dismantling of the organised sex trade networks have revealed the use of Telegram to connect tens of thousands of members with women as sex workers.
The Vietnamese government’s current dismantling of the organised sex trade networks, has emphasised the use of social media and more specifically Telegram for the prostitution rings regrouping tens of thousands of members.
Nguyen Huu Thai was sentenced by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court to 15 years of imprisonment. It was revealed that since 2022, the 27-year-old man was using several unregistered phone numbers to find women willing to participate in the ring as sex workers. With his expanding network, he created various Telegram groups in which he submitted many details about each of the women, such as their physical measurements, their age, ID, and the price of the sex service. The information was coupled with sexually explicit photos and videos of the workers. Membership in the groups cost about 78 USD and 20 USD per user, depending on their use: either for receiving sex service or viewing the explicit content. Clients could select a sex worker and negotiate the price with Thai, ranging from 195 USD to 235 USD per session. His many networks totaled close to 66,000 members and about 585,000 USD of personal earnings.
The arrest of Nguyen Truong Anh Tuan by the Da Nang police took place on April 15th, 2025 after he was accused of creating a network of prostitution through Telegram. The 40-year-old man allegedly expanded his network to more than 300 women as sex workers to operate within his ring. Each of the transactions was reported to range from 20 USD to 195 USD and included commissions for Tuan. Since 2022, the total of all the transactions generated through the “Lan Que Phuong” network is estimated to be millions of dollars with nearly 15,000 members.
Other prostitutions rings make use of online media to connect sex workers and clients, generating significant revenues for the sex trafficker.
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