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Saloons, spas operating as brothels attract undergrads, A/L students
A saloon-cum-spa operating in the vicinity of a girls’ school in Nugegoda was raided last week by the Mirihana Police.
Police received information that a brothel was operating on the pretext of running a saloon-cum-spa on the second floor of the building.
Investigations reveal that among the clients to the brothel were students attending tuition classes in Nugegoda.
Six persons including the owner and four girls were arrested. The raid was among six such raids carried out by the Mirihana Police within the area in the past six weeks amidst complaints that brothels were on the increase in the area.
Mirihana Police Officer-in-Charge (OIC), Chief Inspector (CI) Roshan Rajapaksa told the Sunday Times that a study carried out in the area revealed that many of the spas which operate in the area were in fact brothels. “Some of them operate as Ayurveda treatment centres, but there isn’t any person who has a knowledge of such treatment. They only use the name as a cover,” he said.
He said the raids were carried out after a proper identification and police have identified more places which were brothels.
CI Rajapaksa said that many of these brothels had claimed they had the backing of politicians or thugs in the area, to ensure that raids are not carried out on these places. “We have found these claims to be false. This is done to mislead the public and prevent them complaining to the police,” he added.
Most of the clients of a brothel raided in Nawinna were undergraduates, where seven women were arrested. “Most of the girls arrested here were from the outstations where their households were told they were well employed in Colombo, earning more than Rs. 60,000 a month,” he said.
In another raid on another spa located in Nugegoda, five women were arrested. The same location had been raided on two previous occasions and its owner was on bail. Three women were also arrested from a ‘saloon’ which operated as a brothel. It had resumed operations after it had been closed on two previous occasions.
CI Rajapaksa said there had been an increase in the number of spas. He said it is hoped to continue with the raids until the number of brothels in the area are reduced.
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