Over two dozen arrested as sting operation closes prostitution ring

More than two dozen people will face court for their alleged involvement in an illegal motel prostitution ring.

More than two dozen people have been charged for their alleged involvement in a large scale prostitution syndicate that spanned up the east coast of Queensland.

In a joint agency operation involving specialist officers from the Queensland Police Service, the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Border Force, 25 people have been charged with offences relating to the provision of unlawful prostitution.

Among them is a 65-year-old Brisbane man and a 57-year-old woman, also from Brisbane, who are due to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court later this month.

It’s alleged the pair, who have now been charged with four counts of carrying on the business of unlawful prostitution, were running an illegal prostitution syndicate operating from motels throughout Mackay, Rockhampton, Toowoomba and Brisbane.
Police seized in excess of $36,000 as part of the two-year operation that involved detectives from the QPS Crime and Intelligence Command’s Prostitution Enforcement Taskforce and Major and Organised Crime Squad Regional.

Detective Acting Inspector Brad Phelps from the Drug and Serious Crime Group said the investigation had resulted in senior members of the syndicate being apprehended.

“This was a significant outcome and we remain committed to working with agency partners to target those operating outside the law,” he said.

“Illegal operators not only put the health and safety of their workers and customers at risk, they are profiting from illegal activity and we will continue to hold them to account.”