SHANGHAI police said they busted an Internet prostitution gang that used an online forum called "Making friends in Shanghai" that had up to 450,000 accounts registered by the time police shut it down last month.
Police said they had eight suspects in custody. The gang's illegal profits amounted to millions of yuan.
Officers said they received tips in February about the gang, which registered the domain name overseas and ran the service in the United States via remote control. The organizers posted photos of more than 20 women, saying they were "models, office workers, and even university students." Each illegal service cost 4,000 yuan (US$652) to 10,000 yuan and some were said to take place at top hotels, police said.
This year, police seized 117 suspects involving similar Internet-related sex crimes.
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