No crime probe at illegal brothel

Police are unlikely to become involved in the raid of the North Shore brothel this week because there is nothing to suggest anything criminal was occurring there.

The brothel breached council bylaws because it was operating in a residential area.

Questions had been raised about the possibility of organised crime occurring at the Glenfield brothel, where thousands of dollars in cash was found during Wednesday's raid.

Council environmental protection manager Warwick Robertson said there was nothing to suggest anything criminal was occurring there.

Eight young women who were found at the address are also believed to have worked at eight or nine other establishments in the same area.

Under the Prostitution Act, local authorities, not police, are responsible for raiding illegal brothels.

Mr Robertson said such a raid would be handed over to police only if there was a suspicion of criminal activity occurring within the brothel.

While the North Shore City Council was the lead agency in this week's raid, the immigration service, IRD and two police constables assisted.

Police spokesman Jayson Rhodes said the constables were there as a precaution in case anything went wrong during the raid.

Detective Sergeant George Koria, head of the Auckland Asian Crime Unit, said the squad would like to talk to the council about any matters that needed investigating but was not pursing the case.

The IRD is now investigating possible tax issues while four of the young woman located at the brothel are talking to the Immigration Service about their legal working status.

Mr Robertson said the brothel owner is likely to face one charge of operating an illegal brothel. Breaches of the council bylaw can result in a fine of up to $20,000.
Mr Robertson said there were legal brothels in the city were people could go.

There were also genuine Chinese health massage parlours, which did not offer sexual services.

He said actions of the illegal brothels did little for the image of the genuine establishments, which were frequently mistaken for offering sexual services.