By Marvin A. Hokstam - PHILIPSBURG--A raid in several brothels last night not only landed a relatively large number of illegal prostitutes in jail, but also exposed a lot of what's going on on the island when night falls.
By press time 30 women and one man--all Spanish-speaking--had been rounded up and two clubs closed.
"A lot of these women only had permits to `work' here for a couple of months, others didn't have a permit at all. That means they don't get the regular medical check-ups, which makes them a serious hazard to the island's general health," Chief Inspector Marcel Loor told The Daily Herald, as he was monitoring the raid.
The action started around 9:00pm. Like a snake with many fiery eyes, the line of police cars left the police station and penetrated the darkness of the night, taking the officers to Le Petit Chateau, a short distance beyond the University parking lot, to Defiance Haven and Seaman's Club.
Pretty soon bus loads of illegal sex workers were being transported to police headquarters. The usually quiet station bustled with activity as the sparsely clothed women were registered and taken up to the cells, where they will remain until they are deported.
Several of them were from the Dominican Republic, but there were also a number from Colombia. Loor referred to them as the victims of a failing system, but vowed that his department (Immigration and Naturalization) would do its utmost to correct the situation.
The action last night was not well appreciated. Businesses that are usually bustling with activity saw their revenue running out the door when the officers arrived. And, as the action was near-perfectly prepared, known to only a few and conducted in a quiet, quick and striking manner, guests were still driving in while girls were being loaded into the buses.
Defiance Haven was the first to be closed. "This place has been open for so long and they don't even have a permit," a police officer explained while the managers were preparing to close.
Casa Blanca was closed also. At that club only ten girls were supposed to "work," but a list showed that last night alone, more than 25 girls had been active.
As it was one of the last places to be raided (around 11:00pm), Casa Blanca was bustling with activity and the guests showed open disapproval of the raid. "Mr. S., a married man, even tried to pull his favourite girl out of our van. We had to reprimand him," a police officer laughed.
The girls will probably be deported soon. Whether the owners of the clubs that were found in violation of rules will be charged is not sure yet. However, what is sure, according to Loor, is that the violations of immigration rules that have been condoned for years will not be tolerated anymore.
"We will continue the raids," he said, adding that he was "very satisfied" with the outcome of last night's exercise.
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