Brothel raided in quiet Coventry street

[dutchman]

A brothel in a quiet Coventry street has been shut down by police after neighbours complained about regular visits by “sleazy men”.



Officers raided the terraced home in Wrigsham Street, Cheylesmore, after they received a tip-off that the property was being used as a sex shop and that the prostitutes working there had been trafficked into the country.

They interviewed three eastern European woman who denied working as prostitutes or being forced into it.

But neighbours living on the Cheylesmore Street said they had endured months of suspicious behaviour.

One woman – who was too afraid to be named – claimed that two men who were living with the women and “acted like they controlled them” had only moved a short distance away.

“There were always taxis dropping people off there in the middle of the night,” she said.

“The women living there had a really odd array of wigs. You would see one girl answer the door with short black hair and come out an hour later with long blonde hair.

“It was pretty brazen. Businessmen would park nearby, walk past the brothel, then scuttle back a few seconds later. No-one was fooled.

“We’ve not been here long but ever since we moved in we’ve noticed it.

“Others say it’s been going on for months – even years.”

Another woman – who lives with her family close to the brothel – said “sleazy men” were coming to the property day and night.

Despite the denials of the three women, a closure order was served on the property.

It’s not the first time a quiet Cheylesmore street has been used as a cover for crime.

In August, police found 600 cannabis plants worth thousands of pounds at a home in Courtleet Street.

Officers said it was a “finely tuned operation” with a huge number of plants crammed into a tiny space.

A Cheylesmore man, who lives nearby, told the Telegraph: “It’s not exactly the best part of Cheylesmore but this is still a bit of a surprise. I’m going to go home now and shock the wife by telling her about it.

“The cannabis factory wasn’t far away from this brothel either.”

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said the property was raided on November 24.

He said officers were joined by representatives from the charity Swish Coventry, who offer support for sex workers in the city.

The spokesman said that while the women working there were not actually breaking the law, those running the alleged brothel were.

He added that the objective, in raiding a property like this, is to catch those with an organisational role.