THE jury has retired to consider its verdicts on a man on trial for a prostitution and people smuggling racket at Worcester Crown Court.

Fei Zhang, who runs a Chinese takeaway business in Barking, Essex, denies conspiracy to traffic for the sex trade and also conspiracy to control prostitution.

Facing cross-examination in the dock from the prosecuting Barrister Jonathan Gosling, Zhang said he had never been to Worcester, where police raided a brothel above a shop on Broad Street.

Zhang, aged 39, of Cavendish Gardens, Barking, Essex, is alleged by the prosecution to have been having an affair with Su Zhen Xu (corr) a woman already jailed for her part in the racket, and that he was her boss in running a series of brothels.

In relation to questioning about mobile phones, which police say were used in the prostitution racket and were found at his home when he was arrested, Zhang said a driver at his Chinese restaurant had use of the phones and he did not exclusively use them.

The prosecution says that the mobile phones were topped up by Zhang at a shop on the same road in Barking, Ripple Road, where his takeaway is.

Mr Zhang, speaking through an interpreter, when asked if he had ever topped up the phones said: "No I never have."

Mr Gosling said: "I put to you that you are guilty of running brothels," to which he replied: "All these sorts of things you have related to me and I do not know of these things."

The case against Zhang alleges that he operated a series of brothels thinly disguised as massage parlours and escort agencies across the West Midlands including Broad Street.

Raids had been carried out on March 21 2007 on brothels in a co-ordinated operation. These also included Kingswinford Road, Dudley, Darlaston Road, Walsall, and Stafford Road, Wolverhampton.

11:59pm Tuesday 13th May 2008

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