Sex industry boss arrested in raids on brothels, homes

THE man described as the kingpin in Munster’s sex industry was one of six people arrested yesterday in a series of raids on brothels and homes.

The three men and three women, ranging in age from early 20s to mid-50s, were arrested in various parts of Cork city and suburbs, and in one location north of the city, as a follow up to the Criminal Assets Bureau’s (CAB) Operation Boulder, which targeted the city last November. That operation was investigating money-laundering through sex shops, massage parlours and lap-dancing clubs.

It is understood CAB were also examining possible human trafficking and prostitution.

Yesterday’s operation began just before 8am and involved up to 15 officers from the detective units based at Anglesea Street and Togher garda stations.

The six were arrested under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1994 and were taken to Gurranabraher, Togher, Mayfield and the Bridewell garda stations for questioning.

A total of 17 private and commercial premises across the city were targeted. At least three of the premises are owned by the same individual.

At least two sex shops were uncovered as fronts for upstairs massage parlours.

In at least one premises, detectives discovered miniature cameras hidden in smoke alarms which were being used to record people visiting the establishments.

Gardaí seized substantial amounts of cash, bundles of documents, video tapes and DVDs from a number of the premises. There were no arrests at the time.

CAB officers have spent the past few months trawling through caseloads of the seized documents as part of proceeds of crime investigation. Forensic accountants also looked at the documents to examine alleged money-laundering and tax compliance issues and yesterday’s arrests were the result of that work.

The man at the centre of the probe is believed to be in his mid-50s who lives in a quiet village in the north Cork region.

He is understood to have been heavily involved in the sex industry in Cork, Waterford and Limerick for about 20 years. In that time, he is believed to have amassed a substantial fortune from the sex trade.