A COUPLE who ran a brothel in the centre of Gillingham have been jailed for four months.

Gordon Smith and his Thai wife Banjong used illegal immigrants as prostitutes in their High Street business, which masqueraded as a massage parlour, Maidstone Crown Court heard.

Sentencing the pair Judge Andrew Patience, QC, told them: “In plain language, you were running a brothel in Gillingham at 10a High Street.

“Prostitution is not a way of life in this country . . . no court can condone it.”

He said theirs had been a continuous course of conduct and he could not avoid an immediate prison sentence, both to punish them and to send a message to others who might be similarly tempted to do the same for financial gain.

Smith, 52, and his 44-year-old wife, had been remanded on bail from an earlier hearing, when the case was adjourned for reports.

Sunil Rupasinha, who prosecuted, said when police raided their rented premises on October 2 last year, they found five people there, including Gordon Smith, who identified himself as the owner.

“It was clear that two of the three upstairs rooms had been adapted to be used as working bedrooms,” said Mr Rupasinha.

Those arrested on that day included Thai women, who were illegal immigrants. They had since been deported back to their homeland.

Smith said he had been the tenant of the premises for about five months. His wife was then at their house in Thailand.

“It was clear as the interview continued that he was making no effort to deny the premises were a brothel,” said Mr Rupasinha.

“There was the placing of adverts in local newspapers. There were about ten girls on their books.”

Between May and October last year the court heard, there had been a joint financial benefit to the couple, of £7,929.

But the balance remaining in their respective banks accounts was much lower - £630 in the case of Mrs Smith and £449 in the case of her husband.

Kevin Sparks, defending, said Mrs Smith had been out of the country at the time of the police raid. On learning that it had taken place, she had returned to “face the music”.

Both of them had become very distressed, not just by the fact that they were facing likely prison sentences, but by the whole of the proceedings, said Mr Sparks.

“There is no chance that either of them will offend again, in this way or in any other way,” he added.

The judge imposed confiscation orders in respect of the £449 in the account held by Mr Smith, who had admitted living on the earnings of prostitution, and the sum of £630 in the account in the name of his wife, who had admitted aiding and abetting her husband.