Believe it or not! A brothel located in a posh landmark building in a high security zone in the city was having a roaring business day and night for more than a decade until Police raided it early this week.
The Madam `G’ who ran this flourishing trade on seventh and eighth floors of the Liberty Plaza building at Kollupitiya wielded such political and police clout that non dared to raid it.
Among the regular customers of this sex shop, according to police sources, had been Ministers and MPs, some top brass from police and armed forces, billionaire businessmen and executives from private and public sectors.
Public to whom the existence of the sex shop was no secret, expressed their disgust in whispers and looked on law enforcing authorities with disdain for turning a blind eye to it.

Contempt
Police knew that they had incurred the wrath and the contempt of the public, but feared to swing into action.
In fact, a police team sometime ago carried out a raid on the brothel, perhaps a half-hearted attempt, and to their horror they found a high ranking police officer among the clients.
A powerful minister’s visits there sometime ago abruptly came to an end after he got a scolding from his political boss of the day as his portfolio was connected to security matters. Would the lesser mortals of police carry out a raid on a sex shop patronised by their bosses and even ministers of state?
How did police whip up enough courage to raid this elite sex shop? Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa who came to hear about this place directed IGP Dr Mahinda Balasuriya to eliminate this `disgrace’ on the city for good and the latter in turn directed the Anti-Vice Squad at Walana to carry out the job.
IGP Dr Balasuriya who summoned director, Walana Anti-Vice Police Unit’s Head Superintendent of Police P S Karunanayake, ASP Sudath Masinghe, and OIC of the Unit Daminda Balasuriya to the police headquarters to give them precise instructions how to conduct the impending raid without any hiccup.
The IGP also entrusted the task of co-ordinating the operation to DIG Mahesh Samaradiwakara, a man with an impeccable record and who now serves as personal assistant to the IGP.

Security
Being wise to the tight security measures put in place at the sex shop, Anti-Vice Squad Unit deployed a team of sleuths to scout the brothel premises to collect all intelligence vital for the planned raid.
Police sleuths, accordingly, in various guises reconnoitered the place for about two weeks before staging the raid.

Madam `G’ who ran the brothel had her permanent apartment on the fourth floor… One of her two sons was operating a night club on the ground floor. The Madam and her two sons had purchased several apartments for their business.
Security for the brothel was provided by a private security agency run by Madam’s other son.
A security camera system had been installed at the brothel for video surveillance of the behaviour and the movements of all customers.
Reclining on a comfortable couch close to the cash counter on the 8th floor Madam was watching the videos unfolding on a screen…

There were several secret exits for the clients and the sex workers to flee in the event of an emergency.
All customers entering the brothel premises come under the close scrutiny of the security personnel.
Customers were not supplied with what they sought just for the asking. Madam was wary of accommodating new comers.
However, credible regular customers were readily served with a sex worker with adequate security and privacy.
Once a customer was `accepted’, he would be escorted to the room of an apartment of the sex worker of his choice by a security officer.
These apartments are well furnished and made homely and colorful with internal décor like suites in a luxury hotel.
An apartment consists of three bedrooms, a sitting room, two bath rooms and a kitchenette. There are three doors with safety locks to every apartment to prevent unwelcome visitors entering them.

Foreign beauties
Most sex workers nabbed during the last week’s raid are comely girls in the 20-35 age groups hailing from typical villages. They had been given cosmetic treatment in the brothel’s beauty salon to make them look like women executives from the leading city establishments. These girls groomed like city beauties were being sold for one hour’s sex for prices ranging from Rs6,000 to Rs15, 000. Foreign beauties were more expensive. They could be had for an hour of sex for a minimum of Rs7000.A customer seeking to spend a night with a sex worker had to pay Rs.15,000.

Package deals
Package deals worth Rs500,000 to Rs15,000,000 which include very expensive liquor, blue films, cabaret dancing etc too on offer for super rich pleasure seekers.
Most clients would seek sex in the night, especially from 9pm to 5am.
We were shocked to learn that there are sex seekers who prefer to have sex with expectant women. We were told that there are customers who are prepared to pay a very high price to sleep with a pregnant woman.
Certain girls working in mercantile establishments in the city had been in the habit of calling at the brothel during their lunch hour to sell themselves to supplement their income. Several well known film and tele-drama actresses had been on offer for sex seekers at this brothel.

Revelation
Another shocking revelation is that some girl students from international schools in the city hooked on drugs had been selling themselves for several hours a day to find money for the dope.
Having collected all intelligence relating to the functioning of the brothel, Inspector Duminda Balasuriya arranged for several officers of his team to meet Madam `G’ posing as businessmen to purportedly discuss the possibility of supplying two sex workers for the `comfort’ of two business colleagues arriving from Dubai. After clinching this `deal’, Inspector Balasuriya obtained a search warrant from Fort Chief Magistrate Miss Lanka Jayaratne to search the brothel premises.

Disguise

On Saturday December 4, the day of the planned raid, Inspector Balasuriya arrived in two vehicles at the Kollupitiya intersection along with a 38-member team of Police sleuths from the Anti-Vice Police Unit.
Meanwhile, two police officers disguised as two young businessmen from Dubai reached the 8th floor of the Liberty Plaza building where the brothel was run. Security officers who questioned them, satisfied with their credentials allowed them to enter the sex shop. They met Madam `G’ soon after.
There were about 15 local and foreign sex workers with her at the time.
Among these sex workers were two pregnant women to cater to the taste of sexual perverts of a rare kind.
One of the two `businessmen from Dubai’, after a picking a comely sex worker offered Rs15,000 to Madam.
A security officer presently escorted the `businessman’ and the sex worker to an apartment.
The other officer pretended that he was not in a hurry to take a shine to a girl to have her for the night. Pretending a relaxed manner he reclined on a divan there and told Madam that he wanted to buy a bottle of liquor.

He picked a bottle of an expensive brand and paid her Rs3, 000 for it.
He later picked a girl and a room was soon assigned to him.
However, he lost no time in sending a message to Inspector Balasuriya by his mobile phone.

Exit
Swinging into action anti-vice squad led by Inspector Balasuriya rushed to the Liberty Plaza building through the Duplication road access. Meanwhile, warned by the security camera system, Madam and her assistants fled the scene after making their exit through a secret outlet.
By the time police team entered the 8th floor, doors of all apartments were found closed trapping both sex workers and sex seekers inside their rooms.
The two police decoys too were among them.
The raiding squad broke open the rooms and took into custody seven sex workers including two foreign women.
It has now come to light two sex workers of this brothel had been found positive for HIV at a laboratory test.