Man and woman jailed for running brothel in Birmingham

A man and woman have been jailed after police raided a brothel being used to exploit trafficked women in Birmingham.

Deli Sun, 49 and Xiao Qin Zhong, 48 have now been jailed for their part in running the brothel. 

The pair, from Berkley Street, Birmingham city centre, pleaded guilty at Birmingham Crown Court in December.

Zhong was sentenced to 10 months behind bars, while Sun was sentenced to seven months. 

In July last year officers and support staff from Women’s Aid attended the address on Berkley Street, Birmingham to speak to a sex worker who had previously been found working elsewhere.

Sun opened the door when we arrived at the property, but once inside officers found that two women, one being Zhong, were living there and it was clearly being used as a brothel.  

In each room there was a red light, a bed and other evidence of sex work.

Police say five phones were seized in total on which we found conversations arranging sexual exchanges with potential clients; detailing the sexual services on offer, prices and the location of the brothel. 

An advert used to lure girls from China to work in the UK as sex workers was also found on the WeChat messaging app.

DC Tammy Newman-Smith, from our Force Priorities team, said: "These two were part of a conspiracy directing and controlling the activities of sex workers who have been lured over from China and trafficked throughout the UK.

“They had absolutely no regard for the wellbeing of the women they controlled, with many of the women being visited by up to 10 clients a day. They treated them simply as objects for their own personal financial gain.

"I'd like to thank everyone who ultimately helped us bring them to justice and we’re pleased that they’ve now been jailed for their crimes.

“While we remain committed to rooting out this often-unseen crime and bringing offenders like these to justice, we also work closely with Women’s Aid, Anawim and a range of other agencies to safeguard vulnerable women and get them valuable help and support."