|
|
Article: Amsterdam Cracks Down on Red Light Area
- Article from:
- AP Online
- Article date:
- July 12, 2007
CopyrightCopyright 2007 Associated Press/AP Online. This material is published under license from the publisher through YellowBrix, Alexandria, Virginia. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to YellowBrix. (Hide copyright information)
|
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - Authorities announced a major crackdown on organized crime in Amsterdam's Red Light District on Thursday, for the first time bringing national police investigators and tax authorities to bear on what had long been seen as a local problem.
With its scantily clad prostitutes posing in brothel windows and coffee shops oozing the pungent aroma of marijuana smoke, the area's seediness has always been part of its attraction.
But the district is a magnet for petty criminals and, authorities believe, human traffickers, drug lords and mobsters who take advantage of the situation to launder money.
Prostitution is legal in the Netherlands, and coffee shops are licensed to ...