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Police-owned sauna back as adult venue
A SHEFFIELD brothel seized by police has re-opened and is running as a 'high class adult entertainment venue'.
The former Omega Sauna Rooms on Attercliffe Road is now being run by a new owner as the Box Office Gentlemen's Club.
The premises were seized in January after former owner John Barrett's assets were frozen by a High Court judge.
The property is now owned by Serious and Organised Crime Agency - but the sauna is still open for business.
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Barrett, aged 62, of Standon Road, Wincobank, was ordered by the court to hand over the premises to SOCA.
His bank account was frozen and he was also disqualified from being a company director for 10 years.
SOCA wants to sell the premises and hand over the cash from the sale to the Home Office as they are deemed to be the proceeds of crime.
But the agency cannot sell the building until it is empty - and a receptionist at The Box Office confirmed the premises is still operating as a 'high class adult entertainment venue'.
The receptionist said Mr Barrett sold the business about two years ago. She said the new owner was a woman.
The Box Office website states: "The Box Office Club is one of the best-known gentleman's clubs in Sheffield.
"At The Box Office Club, you'll be able to enjoy a game of pool with one of our elegant hostesses or even relax in our beautiful sauna.
"We also have many VIP and standard bedrooms that are available for you to rest in. It goes without saying that these rooms are tastefully decorated to the highest standard and are equipped with a comfortable bed and your own personal hostess, who is happy to provide you with refreshments on request."
The club boasts 'glamorous hostesses' and says it offers 'a wide variety of lovely ladies to cater to every taste' dressed in 'sexy outfits and slinky stiletto heels'.
A SOCA spokeswoman said: "SOCA recovered the property on 653 Attercliffe Road in Sheffield as part of a High Court Order in January 2009. This property continues to be part of an ongoing legal process and SOCA is unable to comment further at this stage."
Barrett was jailed for 12 months in 2008 for tax fraud.
He made hundreds of thousands of pounds from his cash-only 'saunas' in Attercliffe and Leeds.
They included the Omega, and Winston's, on Dewsbury Road, Leeds.
He and his business partner Edward Kirby-Dorsey, 75, of Ansell Road, Greystones, cooked the books and set up off-shore accounts to avoid paying tax.
When Barrett's garage was searched, officers found nearly 300,000 in safes buried beneath the floor.
The fraud came to light following Operation Rampart, a police raid which saw 13 people arrested on suspicion of living off immoral earnings.
But a judge ruled they couldn't be prosecuted for that offence because police knew sex was for sale but failed to take action.
Kirby-Dorsey has admitted tax fraud but has not yet been sentenced because of his ill health.
He was due to appear in court last week for a confiscation hearing but did not to show up and the case was adjourned.
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Weather for Sheffield
Tuesday 07 February 2012
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