Iran Police Raid Prostitution House, Arrest 20

Published September 13th, 2001 - 03:00 GMT

Police have raided a "house of ill-fame" in a western Tehran district and arrested 20, mostly women, involved in prostitution, reported the official Iranian news agency (IRNA), citing a press report on Thursday.

The daily Tose'eh said the brothel, run by a 34-year-old woman, identified as Mansoureh M., used to lure divorced women into the house located in Karaj, some 40 kilometers west of Tehran.

"In order to fool the authorities, the members of the prostitution gang took their young children with them to the house," it said.

Tose'eh said the detainees are to stand open trial next week at a yet unspecified date.

Press reports of young girls becoming victims of prostitution rings have increased in recent months, said IRNA.

Over the past year, the Iranian capital has been receiving quite a number of reports of runaway girls ending up in the hands of prostitution gangs or human traffickers or murdered under suspicious circumstances.

Press reports had earlier said the number of runaways in Tehran had risen 30 percent in just 12 months, citing 900 girls and 700 boys as having fled from their homes for a variety of reasons – Albawaba.com