Men in court on blackmail charges

File photo / Greg Bowker

Five men appeared in court today on charges of blackmailing staff at Auckland brothels.

The men, aged between 17 and 30 years, are accused of intimidating massage parlour and brothel managers into forking out hundreds of dollars to "secure their premises" in several incidents between October 28 and November 3.

Three of the five accused are Asian students.

An original charge of demanding with menace was upgraded to a more serious blackmail charge before the their appearance in Auckland District Court.

If found guilty, the five could receive a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

All were bailed and ordered to reappear in court on December 1.

- NZ Herald staff