Yafeng Dong

A Hampshire couple, Wei-Gong Li and Yafeng Dong, were jailed for operating a national prostitution ring that exploited Chinese sex workers across the UK. The operation, centred in properties in Aldershot and Guildford, involved managing bookings, providing accommodation, and taking 50 per cent of the women's earnings over nearly three years.

The court heard that Li, 45, and Dong, 53, both originally from China, hosted women at two rented flats where they worked as self-employed sex workers but remained under the couple's control to a degree. The women typically stayed for a week or two before moving to other towns. Prosecutors described the enterprise as part of a wider network of Chinese sex workers travelling between UK cities, with Li and Dong handling operations in North Hampshire. Police traced communications and movements linking their activities to sex work elsewhere in the country.

Li took a managerial role, dealing with administration, finances, and weekly accounts, while Dong managed day-to-day contact with the women at the Aldershot flat. Recovered WeChat messages showed them discussing suitable 'candidate' sex workers, rotas, and concerns over earnings if properties were understaffed. Weekly profits ranged from £200 to £700. In one exchange, Li compared the setup to a previous operation in Portsmouth, noting difficulties in securing workers.

• In November 2023, officers from the Serious and Organised Crime Unit raided a flat in Ascot Court, Aldershot, finding a woman, lingerie, and condoms.
• Further warrants at addresses in Aldershot and Guildford yielded 12 counterfeit ID documents, 10 mobile phones, laptops, keys, a USB stick, sim cards, and hidden cash totalling about £8,000.
• Financial investigations revealed £182,385 in unaccounted cash deposits, inconsistent with their claimed takeaway business income.

Mobile phone data confirmed the couple managed brothels, arranged payments, and moved women between properties. At Winchester Crown Court on Friday, March 13, 2025, His Honour Judge Christopher Parker KC sentenced Li to two years and one month, and Dong to two years and eight months, with half served in custody minus remand time. The judge described it as 'controlling prostitution on a significant commercial basis,' noting no evidence of coercion but clear levels of control. He stated: 'However one looks at it, the pair of you were living off the backs of these young women who were providing sexual services to strangers.'

Both admitted charges of controlling prostitution for gain, facilitating travel for exploitation, and money-laundering. Additional concurrent sentences were imposed, with five-year slavery and trafficking prevention orders. DS Paul Jarrett of the Serious and Organised Crime Unit said: 'Wei-Gong Li and Yafeng Dong were involved in an organised criminal enterprise which targeted and exploited vulnerable women.' Kate Lewis of the Crown Prosecution Service added: 'This was a calculated and organised operation designed to generate profit through the exploitation of others.' Confiscation proceedings are pending.