Video parlours, a thriving business

by Jayampathy JAYASINGHE

Police have launched an all out offensive hard on record bars, video parlours and communication centres throughout the country selling obscene compact discs to school children and adults by downloading sex movies from the Internet. Several such video parlours in the Nuwara Eliya district were raided last week where police found compact discs containing sex orgies. "Most school children have viewed pornographic movies due to the free availability of such DVDs and CDs in the open market. Video parlours are making a fast buck due to the demand for such movies by selling them to school children surreptitiously, a police officer told the "Sunday Observer."

He said traders run video parlours and communication centres at busy places such as bus stands in towns where school children have easy access to such pornographic movies. "School children and youth fall prey as they are targeted by these vendors. School children have been targeted because they are the best clients of vendors," a police officer said.

The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) of the Nuwara Eliya police conducted raids on video parlours and arrested several vendors selling obscene videos to school children.

On a tip off, police raided a video parlour on the top floor of a building at the Nuwara-Eliya main bus stand and seized several videos containing obscene films downloaded from the internet. Following the raid the man who was at the video parlour was taken into custody. "The modus operandi of the video parlour man was to download obscene movies from the internet and then sell them to school children who call over at his shop. School children have a choice of selecting a range of sex movies down loaded from the internet.

A compact disc is sold at Rs 100 to a client," police said. The police while examining the main computer also found 25 obscene films stored in the computer. The films had been downloaded from the internet. They also found six DVDs containing obscene films of local and foreign porn actors and actresses. The suspects were produced before the Nuwara Eliya Magistrate who imposed a fine of Rs. 5,000 on each suspect and confiscated parts of the computer.

The Nuwara Eliya police also raided two video parlours last month at the main bus stand in Nuwara Eliya and found a computer with 200 obscene films. Police took into custody the man at the video parlour. The following day the police raided a popular market in the heart of the town and found a computer with 12 obscene films and seven compact discs.

The police team on questioning the suspect proceeded to Kandapola and raided another video shop where they seized eight compact discs containing obscene films. A suspect was taken into custody following the raid. Video parlour vendors also rent these DVDs to school children at Rs. 50.

According to police sources, DVD and Compact Discs containing obscene films have posed a serious problem to law enforcement authorities. "There is a proliferation of DVD and CD's in the country due to the increasing demand. School children and the youth are attracted to such things in the open market." Traders also find it profitable to sell such DVDs and CDs to school children.

The price of a compact disc in the open market is around Rs 20. However they are sold at Rs. 100 after they are loaded," the sources said. Police seized a haul of DVDs containing obscene sex movies last year near the Post Office in Slave Island, Colombo 2. A man who attempted to sell 110 such DVDs to a police decoy who posed off as a merchant was arrested.

Following his arrest 200 more DVDs were recovered from his flat at Baseline Road, Borella. "The suspect had purchased them from a man in Moratuwa. He had planned to sell them in other parts of Colombo as well, police said.

The Central Anti Vice Striking Force (CAVSF) Walana, Panadura raided several video parlours last year at Mount Lavina, Moratuwa, Piliyandala, Ruwanwella, Kesbewa, Colombo Fort and arrested six vendors at these video parlours following the detection of 390 pornographic DVDs.

Around 10 video parlours in Pettah, Kandana, Fort and Keselwatta were raided by the CAVSF selling 226 DVDs and CDs from January to date. The DVDs carry names such as Playboy, Funny girl, Dog sex and Red flowers. Ten people were taken into custody following the raids. The Courts imposed a fine of Rs 42,500 on seven suspects after they were found guilty of selling obscene videos. The other cases are being heard at the Magistrate Courts in Wattala, Maligakanda and at Hulftsdorp, Colombo.

Two years ago the CAVSF raided a video parlour selling pornographic movies in Kalubowila, Dehiwala close to a school and recovered 55 DVDs containing obscene sex movies.

A man who ran the video parlour was taken into custody in this connection. The suspect enjoyed a thriving business selling obscene DVDs to school children who often patronised his video parlour.