Westport brothel raided by Gardaí

Westport brothel raided

Two arrested women to appear in court today, following lengthy surveillance operation

Neill O’Neill

GARDAÍ in Westport have broken up a prostitution operation in the town, following a raid last Friday evening at Westport Quay.

Two Spanish women, arrested after officers from Westport and Castlebar entered an apartment at The Anchorage Building, will appear in Ballina District Court today (Tuesday). One is charged with operating a brothel and the other with aiding in the operation of a brothel. The pair, who hail from Barcelona, were released from Garda custody after questioning on a cash bail.

It is understood that gardaí had been monitoring the movements of suspected escorts and their clients in Westport and had set up surveillance operations at certain locations – including at The Quay – in recent weeks, before pouncing last Friday evening around 6pm. The two women, who are both in their twenties, were arrested at the scene, as was a local man who was in the apartment at the time.

A sum of cash and two mobile phones were seized in the raid, while a small quantity of cannabis was also found. Members of the Mayo Garda Division Crime Scene Unit were at the apartment for several hours afterwards, where they photographed the two bedroom premises and completed a forensic analysis of the entire property.

The operation is believed to have been run through an escort-type website, where customers select a county and then choose from a range of women and services available. On one particular website two women were listed as working in Westport, while there is another escort available in the Castlebar area, all offering a wide variety of services. After an initial phone call the woman chosen by the interested party will be informed of the inquiry and will ring him back (the escorts will not answer private numbers) and direct him to a location where he can meet her for an appointment. Gardaí believe that the operation was run in a way that the women would always see the client in advance of his arrival.

At The Anchorage, for example, the apartment that was being used has a clear view out across the car park and onto the Quay Road. Clients would be asked to park in full view of the suspicious escorts and then walk – whilst getting phone directions from the watching women – to an apartment, the number and floor number of which would be the last piece of information to be revealed. At any stage of this process had anything about the demeanour of the client or the presence of other cars or people given rise to suspicion, the escorts would not disclose their location. In the past this has caused difficulties for the Gardaí, who practically need to interrupt the escorts while they are engaging with clients in order to prove the offence of operating a brothel.

Gardaí believe that the apartment in question was rented and the women providing the service were changed every few days. The location of the bordello was also subject to change at short notice, and other apartments in Westport – including at Westport Quay – have been the subject of rumour and suspicion in recent months.

Brothels which operate like this are not uncommon in Ireland or even in Mayo, and it is believed that this particular enterprise had been operating for several months.

It is estimated that escorts working in brothels such as the one unmasked last week can make very lucrative wages, charging around €150 per client for basic services.