Police shut down Prestondale brothel
Police believe that the rented house situated on the quiet Maple Close was at the centre of a massive sex ring.
A SUSPECTED brothel operating out of upmarket Prestondale has been shut down by police who arrested two women, including one who they allege was the ‘madam’.
Police believe that the rented house situated on the quiet Maple Close was at the centre of a massive sex ring. Durban North Police Station’s station commander, Col Gopaul Naidoo, said they received a complaint from the Prestondale Neighbourhood Watch and took immediate action.
“We didn’t want to infringe on people’s constitutional rights and decided to call in the KwaDukuza Task Team to help with investigations. Once the team had gathered enough evidence, a raid was conducted on Monday 30 December at 4pm. The ‘madam’ of the brothel and a prostitute were arrested and appeared in court on Tuesday 31 December,” Col Naidoo added.
The women were granted bail and were charged with prostitution and keeping a brothel respectively. The case was postponed to a later date.
Police allege that the brothel cliental choose the women from a website, call in with details of their choice then meet the escorts at the Prestondale house.
The website that is known to the Northglen News features naked women, offering their services for R500 for half an hour session and R600 for a full hour.
The women, according to the website can be found in areas that include Durban North, uMhlanga, La Lucia and Morningside. Each woman has a cellphone number.
The existence of a brothel in Prestondale has infuriated neighbours. A neighbour who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal said he first noticed an unusually high number of men driving up to the alleged brothel. What’s more the cars would park in the brothel yard both day and night the neighbour said.
“The house used to be a holiday house, but the owners, who live in Gauteng, decided to rent it out on a six-month lease. The tenants paid R12 000 a month for a fully furnished house. “I didn’t want to confront the tenants, because I did not know what I was dealing with,” he said.
Ward councillor Heinz de Boer said the unearthing of such criminal activity was possible only because of community involvement.
“Unfortunately there is a lot of prostitution going on in the greater Durban North area. Brothels in the area aren’t uncommon, but the only way we can clamp down on brothels is by taking notice and reporting it to the SAPS,” de Boer said.
Police meanwhile have vowed to clamp down on brothel users and operators. “Let it be known that we will catch these people and arrest them,” said Col Naidoo.
