BROTHEL BLITZ
Police crackdown on ‘massage parlour’ dens EXCLUSIVE
AN undercover sting operation by police has busted a number of Gold Coast massage shops operating as alleged illicit brothels as an ongoing citywide crackdown gains momentum.
Police have shut down four alleged brothels masquerading as massage shops either temporarily whilst awaiting court action or longer term after a targeted operation.
It involved multilingual officers working undercover, hours of surveillance and interviews with clients visiting the venues across the city.
POLICE have shut down another three alleged illegal brothels – including one near a burger shop and a supermarket – as part of an elaborate sting operation targeting dodgy massage parlours.
Asian Star Massage in Southport and GC Star Massage in Ashmore have been declared prohibited brothels for 12 months while Blissful Body Massage at Crestwood Plaza in Molendinar has been temporarily declared a prohibited brothel.
The declarations come just days after a fourth massage parlour, Body Back and Feet Massage in Ashmore, was temporarily declared a prohibited brothel until a hearing in March.
Police allege in court documents that the latest raids found bodily fluid stains, dirty towels, booking sheets containing just names and dollar figures, and text messages between the massage parlours and clients.
The police crackdown involved a combination of multilingual undercover officers, hours of surveillance, tip-offs from the public, conversations with clients and trawling the internet for prostitution advertisements.
Police pounced on the three massage parlours in September last year as a part of Operation Romeo Bailie, which targets illegal brothels.
Two massage parlours – Asian Star Massage on Scarborough St, Southport, and GC Star Massage on Dominion’s Rd, Ashmore – were declared prohibited brothels in the Southport Magistrates Court last week.
The businesses and premises will remain declared prohibited brothels until December 12 next year. The two massage parlours are owned by ShihHsuan Liu, 34, who lives in Southport and has registered both massage parlours under the name JCBD Pty Ltd.
Blissful Body Massage in Crestwood Plaza is fighting in Southport Magistrates Court against a permanent declaration as an illegal brothel.
Magistrate Cameron McKenzie has temporarily declared Blissful Body Massage an illegal brothel until the application to make the order permanent is heard in the Southport Magistrates Court on January 10.
Blissful Body Massage is owned by Yuxia Yin, 54, who has registered the business at a home in Molendinar.
Knight Frank, the real estate agent leasing the premises to Blissful Body Massage, had warned the massage owners about their operations in an email in November, it is alleged. The email was provided to the court.
“Another point we discussed was the allegations that have been made by customers, suggesting that your business is providing additional services that are not provided under the lease or law,” the email allegedly read.
“Please note, should we receive another allegation raising concern to this matter, we will be required to contact police to investigate.”
Police also seized a phone including text messages when they raided the Molendinar massage parlour.
“Ok full services quickie available,” one customer questioned, according to court documents.
The parlour allegedly replied: “We have time now, you can come over and do a good massage.”
One senior officer, working undercover, allegedly asked for “extra services” as part of an operation.
“It was negotiated that I would receive a ‘hand job’ with (the masseuse) being naked, however I was not to touch her,” he said.
“This extra price was $50.” Photos taken at GC Star Massage and Asian Star Massage taken during the police raid and provided to the court showed spartan rooms with pedestal fans, towels and a massage bed.
Forensic testing showed a number of bodily fluid stains on the walls and power points.
Police surveillance showed some girls working at GC Star Massage being picked up and taken to work at Asian Star Massage in Southport, it is alleged in court documents.
Advertisements for both massage parlours boast being able to experience “four hands/two girls for $150 an hour.
The court documents also included a text sent from a phone allegedly related to both massage parlours and advertising the services of “Momo”, a 23-year-old student from Singapore.
The advertisement lists her prices as $250 an hour for an “incall” and $350 an hour for an “outcall”.
Notices about the prohibited brothel declarations have been placed on all three shops. They will remain there until they expire.
IT is the Gold Coast’s dirty widespread secret – and effective action has been a long time coming.
But it seems a significant investment of time and resources by the police is starting to impact the city’s cheap mushrooming trade in sexual services offered behind closed doors in shops masquerading as therapeutic massage businesses.
As revealed in this newspaper today, after a recent earlier bust, the police have now slapped temporary or more permanent prohibition notices on multiple massage shops across the city declaring them alleged illegal brothels.
Raids and resulting shutdowns have been few and far between with police in recent years focusing their efforts and resources towards more pressing criminal investigations.
Who could blame them?
With plenty of other crime needing their attention that is no doubt far easier to solve, it is understandable that putting the resources into the city’s widespread illicit brothel industry has not been a priority.
As previously reported, it can be extremely difficult for police to gather evidence of illegal activity between a client and ‘massage therapist’ in a closed room, let alone prove that a manager or manageress is aware of it.
Not only that – and as police continue to discover now – one shop closes and another shop opens rapidly.
Whether recent pressure applied by departing councillor Dawn Crichlow, the Bulletin and others in the city has caused the renewed police vigour in tackling the trade is unclear.
But it is welcome.
Whether it is the case in the recent instances, generally these cash-rich businesses often prey on cash-poor women from poorer parts of the world – or worse, trafficking them over to our shore with promises of a good job and a long-term visa while the reality is far different.
The considerable police effort of late, leading to shutdowns, should be applauded. But with Bulletin stories in recent years revealing the likelihood of 100s of these operations, the key test is going to be whether the police can keep the pressure on and continue making busts.