Following a major raid on ‘spas’ in the Negombo area, which uncovered two cases of HIV, illegal spas and Ayurvedic centers clandestinely providing prostitution services are facing imminent closure across the island, reports the Daily Mirror.
Sources familiar with the situation revealed that women employed in brothels operating under the guise of spas are now vacating out of fear of contracting HIV.
Spas in Nugegoda and Thalawathugoda are particularly affected, with many secretly engaging in prostitution.
The crackdown stemmed from a large-scale raid by Negombo police, who targeted 53 spas and wellness centers posing as brothels, leading to the detention of around 140 women involved in prostitution.
This operation, orchestrated by Officers in Charge (OICs) from nearby police stations, spanned several days and followed intelligence gathered by police units.
The decision to target spas in Negombo was prompted by an incident involving an arrested drug dealer found to be HIV positive, who confessed to frequenting spas regularly, leading to the initiation of raids.
Authorities are deliberating whether to expand raids on spas, weighing the health risks to personnel deployed as decoys.
The failure to monitor spa and wellness centers has allowed them to operate as brothels, according to police sources.
Additionally, there’s been a surge in women in illegal spas using methamphetamine, known as ‘ice,’ leading to their expulsion by spa managers.
These developments have left spa owners grappling with the dilemma of how to continue operating their centers.
Source – dailymirror.lk
