Tamil Nadu: 72 spas, massage centres offering sex services shut down in Coimbatore

COIMBATORE: Flesh trade is flourishing in the city under the cover of spas and massage centres, many of which are functioning illegally. These spas mostly offer nude body massages with a 'happy ending' by women, who are brought in from different parts of India. The 'services' are priced at anywhere between ₹2,000 and ₹3,000 per hour. The charges, however, vary based on the 'services' chosen by customers.

The city police have been cracking down on such illegal spas and massage centres and closed 72 of them so far this year. Police said the drive against the spas and massage centres offering sex services would be intensified in the coming days.

Two weeks ago, the city police had busted a notorious sex racket being operated by Sikkandar Basha, 38, of Cumbum in Theni district, and his aide S Stephen, 32, of Podanur in the city, from Kolkata. They were running several spas and massage centres across the city for flesh trading.

Investigation revealed Basha had international connections and been bringing women from Russia and other countries to India for flesh trading.

"Basha was earning at least ₹50 lakh a month through flesh trade and funding various notorious rowdy gangs in Tamil Nadu to attack the people threatening illegal spas and massage centres for monthly 'mamool'," said R Stalin, city deputy police commissioner (North).

He said 59 spas were functioning in his jurisdiction. "We collected details of all the spas, which were mostly functioning at Gandhipuram, Peelamedu, Hope College, Singanallur and surrounding areas, and came to know some of them were offering full body massage without appointing a certified masseur. Many spas were functioning illegally without renewing their licences from the city corporation and obtaining no-objection certificates from the city police." The officer said some spas were offering 'happy ending' services and body-to-body massages. "These spas were mostly employing women from the northeastern parts of the country. We have closed 57 spas that were functioning illegally in our jurisdiction from Jan 1 to Sept 19 this year."

Stalin said these spas and massage centres were luring customers by advertising their services with contact numbers on various websites. "When people contact them over phone, they would share photos of women available to provide services for their selection. When we started cracking down on illegal spas and massage centres, some sex racketeers have shifted their trade to a few lodges in the city. We are closely monitoring such lodges." K Saravanakumar, city deputy police commissioner (South), said 15 illegal spas were closed in his jurisdiction during the period under discussion.