Hong Kong police have dismantled a local syndicate allegedly running a vice ring involving Thai women, seizing HK$13 million in cash (US$1.66 million) and freezing HK$5 million in suspected crime proceeds.

The force said on Saturday that it arrested five local men and two foreign men, aged between 44 and 54, for allegedly running a prostitution ring in the Tsim Sha Tsui district by luring Southeast Asian women to work as sex workers in Hong Kong.

Four core members, including three brothers and one Thai national, were arrested on suspicion of human trafficking, living off the earnings of prostitution of others, causing prostitution and money laundering.

Nine sex workers from Thailand, aged between 19 and 33, were also arrested on Friday during an undercover operation for allegedly breaching their conditions of stay.