Four men appeared in Auckland District Court today for allegedly blackmailing Auckland massage parlours and brothels into paying them "safety" money.
Lei Zheng, 24, Savaga Taii, 30, Chen Chen, 23, Filipe Mahe, 38, between them faced 30 blackmail charges.
They were initially charged with demanding with menace but this was replaced with the more serious blackmail charges, which carry a maximum sentence of 14 years' jail.
They were remanded on bail to reappear in court on March 3 for a post-committal conference.
Yi Fan Zhang, 17, was also to appear today on similar charges.
The charges related to several incidents at Auckland massage parlours and brothels between October 28 and November 3, police said.
Proprietors and managers, mainly women, told police they had been intimidated into paying the accused hundreds of dollars to ensure the safety of staff and premises.
- NZPA
Massage parlour, brothel blackmailers in court
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