JAKARTA. Undercover officers working with the South Jakarta Police arrested an alleged pimp identified as RA, 32, and an alleged sex worker identified as AA, 22, at a five-star hotel in South Jakarta on Friday. RA allegedly employed up to 200 sex workers, some of whom are known to the public.

According to the police, AA was in a hotel room when RA, who was waiting for AA in the lobby, was arrested.

Speculation has spread through social media about the identity of AA, who was said to be an Indonesian celebrity and a photo model who has appeared in men’s magazines. Police would not confirm or deny the rumors because of the ongoing investigation, tempo.co reported.

BRI Terbitkan Surat Berharga Komersial, Dukung Pendalaman Pasar Keuangan Nasional

“They [the alleged sex workers] will be witnesses in our case. We cannot discuss their backgrounds,” South Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Wahyu Hadiningrat said during a press conference on Saturday as quoted by kompas.com.

A detective with the South Jakarta Police, Adj. Comr. Joynaldo, said most of the women in RA’s circle, whose pictures were featured in RA’s social media group, were known to the public. He said if the pictures of each of the women were shown to the public, he was sure that people would recognize many of them.

Later on Saturday afternoon, AA was freed by the police after being questioned since Friday night.

Police alleged that RA had run his business since 2012 through a messenger application and word-of-mouth marketing among certain prominent community members. According to RA’s reported confession to investigators, he provided sex workers’ services not only to clients in Indonesia but also abroad, such as in the US city of Boston, Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur and Thailand’s Bangkok, with airfares and hotel expenses being added to the top of the normally charged fees.

“[His customers come] from various circles, but we cannot describe the details of the circles further,” Wahyu said.

RA charged his clients Rp 80 million (US$6,124) to Rp 200 million for a “short time” service from each of the workers he employed, depending on the popularity of the women, from which he kept 30 percent of the fee. (prm)