News
Mobile brothels make police see red
The undercover agent went into the “spa” in Wellawatte to inquire about the services offered; since he was referred by one of the spa’s good clients he was under no suspicion.
After paying Rs. 4000, a female escort led the way to a “spa room”. Keeping his phone connected with his team outside, he initiated a conversation with the escort.
After collecting enough evidence from the phone conversation the team sprang into action and raided the brothel run in the guise of a spa.
Three sex workers and their manager were arrested. It was the second time in six months that the establishment was raided.
Two days later, the same team was deployed again to raid another ill-famed establishment. Run inside a small hotel in Wellawatte, the so-called spa catered to selected clients, mostly foreigners. But for the right price the requests of a trusted local customer was always entertained. The price range could vary from a few thousand rupees to Rs. 15,000.
Posing as a banker, it was easy for one of the team members to convince the female manager that he was a genuine customer. After paying Rs.10,000 the undercover officer was able to collect enough evidence and enable the rest of the team to raid the brothel. Two sex workers were arrested and produced in court.
In both cases the owners of the establishments were not arrested.
“It is difficult for us to prove their involvement in the case as the owners will always say they rented the place to run the ‘front’ business,” said Walana Anti-Vice Squad OIC D. Balasuriya.
OIC Balasuriya said it had become increasingly difficult for the police to stamp down on prostitution as brothels now operate without any permanent location.
“Now we take warrants specifying the mobile numbers and registration numbers of the vehicles in which the rings operate. This has complicated the issue,” he said.
Drivers of three-wheelers for hire also double as brokers to provide the services of sex workers and this again, according to OIC Balasuriya, made the task of curbing the illicit trade difficult.
“The driver charges for the hire and he will get a commission from the woman for whom he brokers. But we cannot prosecute such activities under the Brothels Ordinance,” he said.
The biggest problem for police was the small amount of the fines imposed on offenders. An individual who is guilty of prostitution or soliciting is fined a maximum penalty of Rs. 500, and a person found guilty of running a brothel may incur t a maximum Rs. 50,000 fine.
OIC Balasuriya said he understood that most women drawn into prostitution knew the gravity of their situation but felt compelled to earn a living in this way due to their financial situation.
In 2011, a total of 172 cases were prosecuted under the Brothels Ordinance while in 2012, another 168 were prosecuted islandwide. In 2011, 1045 female sex workers and 91 male sex workers were arrested. The following year, 23 males and 1237 females were arrested.
In 2013, 44 raids were conducted by the Walana Anti-Vice squad. During the past two months the unit conducted three raids.