Sex trade to boom as Cup fans arrive

Billie Piper showed the upmarket side of prostitution in The Secret Diary of a Call Girl. Photo / Supplied

Brothel owners are predicting booming business during the World Cup as thousands of fans look to score off the field.

And that demand is likely to fuel an influx of overseas prostitutes who will try to work here illegally.

An estimated 85,000 rugby fans are expected to come to New Zealand for the event next year. Immigration authorities say they will be on alert for prostitutes during the lead-up to the tournament.

A brothel owner told the Herald on Sunday he expected dozens, and potentially hundreds, of overseas prostitutes to flood New Zealand.

Illegal sex workers were a major problem already, he said. They were exploited and lived in appalling conditions.

"It's a serious problem," he said. "The reality is some of these girls come into the country, have their passports taken off them and handed back when they leave the country.

"After they're in New Zealand they're supplied to other places like Australia, Canada and the UK. They get a living allowance while they are here and are paid when they leave."

The insider said apart from the harsh conditions overseas workers endured, none of the money that went to them would stay in New Zealand.

"There will be a significant amount of revenue taken away."

He said being part of a human-trafficking chain would also tarnish New Zealand's reputation.

Immigration New Zealand is aware there is likely to be increased demand for illegal workers during the tournament, as the influx of international visitors increases the demand for services.

Head of Immigration Nigel Bickle said anyone in New Zealand on a temporary permit working in the sex industry would be removed.

Immigration officers spoke to people in the sex industry regularly to identify illegal workers, he said.

"The small minority of people who are tempted to take advantage of this event for their own unlawful purposes are warned that we will not tolerate abuse of the immigration system and firm action will be taken against those who try," Bickle said.