Illegal brothel in Laburnum, Blackburn shut down by police
AN ILLEGAL brothel operating as a massage parlour in a small Blackburn shopping strip, which neighbours said was “quite busy”, has been raided by police.
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AN illegal brothel operating in a small, leafy Blackburn shopping strip has been shut down.
The ‘massage parlour’ operated out of one of the few shopfronts in Laburnum Village for about three months before it was raided and closed by police, according to several staff from nearby businesses.
An Australia Post staff member working at Blackburn LPO, next door to the establishment, said “four to five Chinese girls” worked at the business.
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The staffer, who did not want to be named, said he had noticed the women could not speak English.
He said there were “a lot of white people in and out” of the brothel all throughout the day, mainly men.
“It was quite busy,” he said.
The man estimated 20-25 people went in every day.
He said traders and shoppers had suspicions about the business, which was advertised as open daily until 8.30pm, but offered little other information.
“We had a feeling something was going on,” he said.
Another worker from the village, who did not want to be named, said the business had been advertised as offering sex services on Locanto, a free classifieds website.
The business had allegedly relocated from a location in Blackburn North which had been detected and shutdown by authorities.
Several workers said residents had complained to Whitehorse Council before the business was raided by police.
The council took the massage parlour to Ringwood Magistrates’ Court in September, where it was declared to be a proscribed brothel under section 80(1) of the Sex Work Act 1994.
Council general manager city development Jeff Green said for the next 12 months “it is an offence for any person unless for a lawful purpose, to be found in, entering or leaving the premises”.
The brothel, at 9A Salisbury Ave, Blackburn, was situated among cafes and in view of a number of houses.
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