Erbil police arrest 11 accused of prostitution

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Erbil police announced on Thursday the arrests of 11 people allegedly running a prostitution ring, the second such operation this month. 

The police were acting on a tip from the public about an alleged prostitution ring operating in a residential neighbourhood in the Erbil area, Hogir Aziz, spokesperson for Erbil police, told Rudaw’s Ranja Jamal on Thursday. 

“After locating the house that was used for prostitution, as per the order of the investigative court and the public prosecutor, we began a raid to arrest the members of the group. We were able to arrest eight women and three men and refer them to the court,” said Aziz. 
 
The women all come from “outside the Kurdistan Region,” he added, without giving further details. 

On February 5, Erbil police broke up another prostitution ring, arresting seven Arabs, one from Syria and the rest from southern Iraq. And in a separate case, police on February 4 arrested Bayan Ghareeb, a Kurdish actress and social media figure who goes by the nickname 'Bayo.' She is accused of running a prostitution ring.