SEX SELLS Lust, greed and pride were all sins committed by illegal brothel operator, Shao Li. editorial MARIA CARNOVALE
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ergeant Ilias Iliadis was seen entering a brothel on a summer evening in November 2008. He was observed leaving not long after followed by another police member and Shao Li, who was about to be charged with a number of offences relating to running an illegal brothel.
It took only four weeks for police to gather evidence about Li’s illegal brothel in Victoria’s northern suburb of Coburg. “We received an initial complaint and started surveillance straight away,” Sgt Iliadis, a senior constable at Brunswick police station at the time, said.
"It was obvious to me that he was taking advantage of women who were in a bad spot, so he would convince them to provide sexual services so that he could make money." 20
February 2010 POLICELIFE
The brothel had been running for what police believe was about four months. Advertisements about the business were published in local newspapers, promoting its massage and relaxation services, and word of mouth had spread about its ‘extra’ services. “It was very busy,” Sgt Iliadis said. “But you will find that those kinds of places are busy because of their prices. An hour service at the brothel was about $80 whereas an hour service at a legal brothel is around $200. “We intercepted about 70 people coming out of the business in a total of 20 hours.” Statements from those seen leaving the premises were taken, proving that sexual services were being offered and allowing police