The torso of a Chinese woman was found in an apartment complex in Antwerp, Belgium, with investigators believing she may have been linked to a prostitution network.
The upper half of the 50-year-old Chinese national’s body was found in a suitcase in the basement of an apartment building on January 27th and was recently identified by prosecutors.
Following the discovery of the body, investigators found other body parts in the vicinity. A source close to the case stated that investigators believe the woman was connected to prostitution networks, the French newspaper Le Figaro reports.
“The hypothesis is that this criminal organization (of human trafficking) is at the origin,” the source told French media.
“It is possible that the facts have a link with the world of Chinese prostitution.”
On Tuesday, police conducted 30 searches in both Belgium and Spain in connection with the case, with those targetted being mainly Chinese nationals. Nine of the suspects were taken into custody and face charges of human trafficking and money laundering.
The suspects are believed to have organised prostitution through appointments online and used private hotels and holiday homes to facilitate sex trafficking.
Police also discovered at least 20 women who are believed to be victims of the sex trafficking network.
The apparent killing comes just months after two Chinese women were murdered in Rome, along with a transsexual woman who had been stabbed to death in November.
Italian police later named Giandavide De Pau, a drug addict, as the main suspect in the case and he is believed to have killed the three victims with a stiletto heel, killing two of them during sexual intercourse.
Police said that all of the women involved worked as prostitutes and that the two Chinese women were pimped out by a “madam” on an online sex app.
The case in Belgium also partially echoes that of Italian teenager Pamela Mastropietro, who was murdered by a Nigerian drug addict near Rome in early 2018.
Innocent Oseghale dismembered Pamela’s body after killing her and left her in suitcases by the side of a road. He was sentenced to life in prison the following year.
Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.
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