Mi Sun Hayes, 53, of Charlotte, NC is suspected of operating a sex slave ring which included human smuggling and shipping women from brothel to brothel.Korean women were allegedly lured by recruiters and promised the "American Dream" before being forced into prostitution to pay for their fake IDs and their passage to the United States. They had to pay tens of thousands of dollars.
6 News reported that Hayes was arrested at her Endhaven neighborhood home. Neighbors said they knew little about Hayes; only that she went to Baltimore often and said she was an interpreter. Agents said Hayes was actually running a "moon light," or a Baltimore salon which doubled as a brothel.
Agents said Hayes is videotaped at the salon and recorded on the phone talking about robbery where she couldn't go to police because of the illegal nature of her business. She also mentions in the tapes a specific woman brought to the brothel.
Altogether, 27 brothels in the Northeast have been shut down, and over 70 sex slaves freed. The arrests Tuesday capped a 15-month probe that began when a Korean couple who owned and operated a chain of brothels in Queens tried to bribe an undercover New York City Police Department detective, said Julie L. Myers, assistant secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.The arrests occurred in Washington D.C., New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Maryland, California and Rhode Island. If convicted, those charged faced maximum sentences of five to 10 years. U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said the smuggling organization relied on recruiters who went to Korea and found young women eager to live in the United States. Sources: 6News & Newsday