READING - Reading police arrested two women Friday afternoon who were reportedly operating a prostitution service out of an Archstone Circle apartment, attracting their clientele through classified advertisements in the Boston Phoenix, police said.

Chin Y. Cheng, 47, and Peng Gao, 46, of 2 Archstone Circle were taken into custody, as was one of their customers, a Beverly man.

Lt. Det. Dick Robbins said that residents of the complex had reported constant activity at apartment 202 in recent weeks, with men entering the apartment and leaving about 20 minutes later during the late afternoon and early evening hours.

The complex is located just of I-93 neear the Woburn line.

As a result of surveillance, three officers, Sgt. Det. Mark Segalla, Det. Derek Holmes and School Resource Officer Richard Abate approached the apartment Friday afternoon. One officer remained outside in an unmarked car, while the other two went up to the apartment corridor, dressed as complex workers. While they were there, two men left the apartment and one entered, Robbins said.

The officer outside the building was contacted, and he pulled one man over under the guise of a routine traffic stop. As a result of questioning, the driver admitted his purpose for visiting the apartment, and gave the officer information on how to contact the women. One of the detectives followed the instructions and was admitted to the apartment, where they arrested the women and James F. Callahan of Beverly who was present in the apartment.

The women were taken to the station and charged with prostitution. Cheng was advised of her rights through a Cantonese interpreter, and Gao was advised with assistance from a Mandarin interpreter.

Both women were released on personal recognizance and directed to report to Woburn District Court this morning. Callahan was charged with solicitation of a prostitute, was released on $100 bail, and directed to report to Woburn District Court as well.

Lt. Robbins said that the Archstone complex had previously been the site of a transsexual prostitute who was soliciting clients through Craig's List, but that that person had since moved on.