---

For $20-$150, you can get a ‘happy ending’ (and more) in Thai massage parlours in suburban Australia, but at what cost to the workers?

HUNDREDS of illegal brothels, many of which offer unsafe sexual practices and put women’s safety at risk, are operating across Melbourne.

And police admit the sheer size of the industry makes it difficult to investigate.

Victoria Police spokeswoman Sara-Jane Delaney shied from going into specifics, but said the Sex Industry Coordination Unit had investigated a number of alleged illegal brothels in Moreland and Hume over the past 12 months.

“What we can say is that one of the things that makes it so difficult is simply the size of the illegal industry,” she said.

Ms Delaney said the majority of illegal brothels operated under the guise of massage shops, with others in homes, beauty salons and karaoke bars.

http://www.herald...dab2f0b8f2