Surabaya. The Surabaya City Police have arrested a 24-year-old woman identified as YY, from Ogan Komering Ulu, South Sumatra, along with six accomplices. They were apprehended for coercing four underage girls into prostitution in Surabaya, East Java.

The Head of Criminal Investigation at the Surabaya City Police Hendro Sukmono, said the case was uncovered after one of the victims reported to the police.

"YY acted as the ringleader, assisted by six others including an underage boy, who worked as administrators or intermediaries finding clients through various applications," Hendro explained at a press conference on Tuesday.

According to Hendro, YY had been exploiting the four victims, aged 15-17, as prostitutes since January 2024. Each day, they were coerced into servicing 10 to 20 clients.

YY operated out of two units in an apartment in Surabaya, which she used as a base of operations. Every day at noon, she hired a makeup artist to prepare the victims, and by afternoon, YY and the victims would move to a predetermined hotel.

Upon arrival at the hotel, YY would book five rooms—four for the victims and the clients, and one as an office for the intermediaries to find more clients through applications.

"Each victim was forced to serve 10 to 20 clients per day, with operations running from 03:00 p.m. to 03:00 a.m. Afterward, they would return to the apartment," Hendro said.

YY set rates for clients ranging from Rp 300,000 ($18.67) to Rp 1.3 million, depending on negotiations handled by the intermediaries. The money was entirely controlled by YY, with the victims never receiving any payment. YY claimed the victims owed her for accommodation and daily living expenses.

The intermediaries earned commissions from YY, ranging from Rp 75,000 to Rp 450,000 based on the earnings from each prostitution activity.

"The penalties for human trafficking range from a minimum of 3 years to a maximum of 15 years in prison. For child protection violations, the penalties range from a minimum of 3 years to a maximum of 10 years," Hendro stated.

The four children are currently undergoing rehabilitation and counseling by the Women's and Children's Protection Agency (DP3A) of East Java Province.