Gardaí in Dundalk raided what they believe was a brothel being operated from a luxury apartment and arrested two women on Thursday night.
A quantity of cash was recovered. When gardaí entered the apartment with a search warrant they found a local man "in a compromising position" with one of the women.
During a week-long surveillance operation, gardaí had recorded a number of cars whose drivers were seen visiting the apartment. All have been identified. Some had travelled from Northern Ireland. The women, from Moldova and the Ukraine, were allegedly charging €100 for half an hour. The owner of the apartment, which is in a much sought-after part of Dundalk town centre, was said to be unaware of what was going on because the premises was leased out. Gardaí suspect the women were working for another non-national.
The women, who are in their 30s and speak good English, have been living in Ireland for sometime, gardaí said. Both have addresses in Dublin.
"We suspected this apartment was being used as a brothel and got a search warrant under the Criminal Justice Act. When we entered it we found one man and one woman in a compromising position. Another woman was in the apartment at the time," said a Garda source.
Some members of the public had complained to gardaí about activity around the Kilgar apartment complex, off Jocelyn Street.