AMSTERDAM - Wednesday More than 1,300 prostitutes were targeted yesterday by a text message bomb from the National Criminal Investigation Department. The bombing is part of an extensive operation against illegal prostitution in well-known hotel chains.

Yesterday, clients were informed that they had contacted an escort agency offering victims of human trafficking over the past year. These are Eastern European ladies who were promised a bright future in the Netherlands, but were forced into prostitution.

The police investigation revealed that the majority were ordering prostitutes during working hours during the day. The customers were asked to contact the police. By late afternoon, dozens of customers had called the police. Among them were women, possibly partners of the customers.

Escort websites closed

AMSTERDAM - The text message bomb to more than 1,300 escort clients is an experiment to explore the legal boundaries of police investigations, according to prosecutor Warner ten Kate of the national prosecutor's office.

During the extensive police operation yesterday, two arrests were also made and several homes were searched. Also, the National Criminal Investigation Department closed the websites of two escort agencies. On www.zuzana.com and www.pleasure-escort.com, the police logo and the announcement that the websites were confiscated by the police appeared. The 32-year-old organization behind one of the closed websites, zuzana.com, was arrested yesterday morning in Lisse.

In the office of Please Escort, a 32-year-old employee from Haarlem was arrested. The 37-year-old prime suspect from The Hague escaped. An international search warrant was issued against him.