Not one. Not two. No, it took 25 policemen to establish that crime was in progress at The Ranch and The Titty Twister - alleged brothels owned by Andrew Phillips.
Prior to a raid, they each paid R150 or R250 of taxpayers' money to enter the premises "undercover". And it wasn't their first outing.
When one of the police officers on the raid paid for sex, the entire operation was exposed.
Raid leader Inspector Stuart Griffiths, fearing that a newly-married colleague could find himself in a compromising position, frantically searched for the man - and ran straight into Phillips.
'I cannot remember -there were enough naked girls to divert anybody's attention' "Help me rescue my colleague from the prostitute," he pleaded, instead of arresting Phillips on the spot.
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This was some of the evidence that sent a ripple of giggles through the Johannesburg regional court as Phillips went on trial on Monday.
He earlier pleaded not guilty to six charges relating to running three alleged brothels: The Ranch, The Titty Twister and The Oriental Palace.
In his plea explanation, Phillips said he had long believed that prostitution and related offences were not unlawful or were offences the state was not inclined to prosecute.
He said there had been no prosecutions against several Gauteng clubs and entertainment venues, including "all seven branches of Teazers (strip clubs)".
'I went to rescue my colleague from the prostitute' "I have been singled out for prosecution on these charges because the Asset Forfeiture Unit identified me as a potential source of substantial assets," he said
The court heard from Griffiths, then the designated liquor officer for the West Rand area, that his instructions had been very clear: take away The Ranch's liquor licence and close the place down.
The search warrant under which he conducted a raid on the premises on December 14, 2000 was later set aside by the High Court, coupled with an order that the police had to return all they had confiscated and all the pictures they had taken.
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