Convicted brothel owners ordered to pay back more than £600,000

A court has ordered a total of over £605,000 to be confiscated from three brothel owners who were jailed following a Kent Police investigation into the sexual exploitation of trafficked women.

Yuan Hang, Lina Wang and Chung Fu Wang played leading roles in the prostitution of vulnerable victims in over 50 locations across the UK including Canterbury, Chatham, Dartford, Gillingham, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells.

Some of the women were brought into the country illegally and forced into sex work to pay off family debts, including one who had no idea where she was. Others were coerced into taking part in unsafe sexual practices such as not using protection.

The criminality also had a significant impact on local people who reported noise, criminal damage and regular visits to the premises at all times of the day and night.

Kent Police first became aware of the criminal enterprise in 2019 following the discovery of two brothels in Gillingham and Maidstone that officers were later able to link.

A complex investigation was carried out that relied heavily on the analysis of mobile phone data to match specific numbers used for marketing purposes to the offenders responsible.

Arrests made

When Lina Wang was arrested at her home in Cambridgeshire in August 2021, she attempted to hide six mobile phones that fell to the floor from behind her back. During a subsequent search of the property officers found bank statements showing she was in possession of around £430,000.

Chung Fu Wang was arrested the same day in London, also surrounded by mobile phones and in possession of bank cards belonging to some of the sex workers he controlled.

Yuan Hang had been arrested several months earlier when he gave himself up to police following a warrant at a flat in London that he was renting. Despite having minimal employment history or means of legitimate income, he was found to be a heavy gambler who drove expensive cars and visited high-end retailers.

All three, who are of Chinese nationality, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to control prostitution for gain, with Hang and Lina Wang also admitting possession of criminal property and at Maidstone Crown Court on Tuesday 1 April 2025, they were all sent to prison.

Money confiscated

After they were jailed, officers made an application under the Proceeds of Crime Act to ensure the three criminals could not benefit from any remaining money they had made through their exploitation. It resulted in all three having to pay a combined total of £605,903.

On Monday 29 June 2026, 42 year old Chung Fu Wang of Blackborne Road, Dagenham, returned to court, where he was ordered to pay £82,711.
At an earlier court hearing in April 2026, Lina Wang, 45, of Bartlow Road, Cambridge, was ordered to pay back £485,565, and 40 year old Yuan Hang, of no fixed address, had funds totalling £37,626 confiscated.

All must pay within three months or face a further 18 months in prison on top of their current sentences.

Detective Inspector David Godfrey said:

‘When Chung Fu Wang, Lina Wang and Yuan Hang were sentenced last year, the court heard that they had manipulated vulnerable people for their own ‘selfish, greedy reasons’. ‘It was clear they should not be able to benefit from their criminal enterprise, and so our officers brought forward financial evidence before the court. It will ensure the three cannot live the high life, paid for through other people’s suffering. ‘What they did to innocent people in the name of greed was deeply disturbing and we are pleased the courts approved the orders to confiscate their ill-gotten money.’