A 63-year-old man has been given a two-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to running three brothels in Dublin city centre.
Paul Humphreys, originally from Cork but with an address in Cyprus, was one of the main people investigated by gardaí under Operation Quest.
The operation was set up to investigate organised prostitution in Dublin.
Gardaí believe that the scale of the brothel operation was such that Humphreys was taking in money equivalent to €780,000 per annum.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Humphreys operated at least three brothels using mobile phone numbers, which were advertised on the internet.
Prospective clients of ten prostitutes working at the apartments would ring the mobile numbers, which were answered by a receptionist who then directed the clients where to go.
Officers carried out a series of raids, including an apartment at Cecilia Street in Dublin 2, another at Essex Street West in Dublin 2 and another at Gallery Quay in Dublin 2.
A total of €41,646 in cash was seized during the operation.
Client records
Humphreys would travel to Ireland from his home in Cyprus every couple of weeks to collect 50% of the prostitutes' takings.
Ten women in their 20s were identified by gardaí as having worked at the brothels operated by Humphreys.
The women were all foreign nationals, from various European countries.
The court was told that the prostitutes kept meticulous records of the clients who visited the apartments.
On the night before a garda raid, a total of 47 clients visited the brothels between 7pm and 5am and a total of €8,730 was taken in during that time period.
The State accepted that a number of people had been saved the embarrassment of giving evidence in court because of Humphrey's guilty plea.
Having spent 14 months already in custody, he will be released from prison shortly, once he pays a fine of €40,000 also imposed on him.
This was the maximum fine the judge could impose under the legislation.
