Edinburgh businessman ran brothel from notorious sauna but was caught after tragedy
Ian Douglas Haig ran the Scorpio Leisure business and made his cash from charging customers on entry and being paid a fee by sex workers for use of one of the premise's five bedrooms.
But the 82-year-old company director was caught in charge of the sleazy sex den after police were called out to investigate the death of a woman within the sauna, on Albion Road, in 2022.
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During the subsequent police investigation officers interviewed staff and clients who had attended the sauna and discovered it was being used for prostitution purposes.
Haig was arrested and charged with allowing the premises to be used as a brothel and pleaded guilty when he appeared in the dock at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday, July 3.
A written narration read out to the court stated Haig, who used to be in the merchant navy, was 'the long standing tenant' and 'the operator of the business known as Scorpio Leisure'.
The narration said: 'Scorpio Leisure was offering paying customers massage services, advertised itself as a sauna and operated as a brothel.'
The court heard patrons entered through a locked inner door and the inside of the building included a lounge, a staff kitchen with 16 lockers, a shower area and changing room.
The narration added: 'There were five rooms all containing a bed, mirrors on the walls, a corner bath and showers. The rooms contained stocks of wipes, lubricants and shower gel.'
The court heard a woman passed away in non-suspicious circumstances within the premises in the city's Leith area on April 30, 2022 that had led to a police investigation.
Police interviewed a number of women who worked at the sauna who said 'clients attending the brothel paid an entrance fee to the accused' of £20 for a 30 minutes session and £35 for 90 minutes.
The narration detailed the brothel's pricing structure stating the customers paid the women a further £50 for a 30 minute appointment and £75 for 90 minutes
The court was told the sex workers would then pay Haig £10 per client for the use of the room.
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The court heard: 'Clients attending at Scorpio Leisure selected the women at the lounge area then moved to a bedroom.
'Some of those clients provided statements on their interactions with the accused either on arrival or departure and were quite clear the accused knew the premises were being operated as a brothel.'
The court was told nurses from the charity SACRO regularly attended the premises to 'supply condoms and offer sexual health advice and support to the women working there'.
Solicitor Nigel Bruce, defending, asked for his client's bail to be continued and said he would reserve his mitigation to the sentencing hearing.
Sheriff Fergus Thomson agreed to continue bail and deferred sentence on the pensioner, of the capital's Haymarket, for the preparation of a social work report to next month.
The sheriff also agreed to continue a Crown motion of a matter of confiscation under Section 92 of the Proceeds of Crime Act for four weeks.
Haig was the sole shareholder of Darrock Ltd before the company was dissolved earlier this year.
Haig pleaded guilty to being the tenant, occupier or operator of Scorpio Leisure, Albion Road, Edinburgh, and allowing the premises to be used as a brothel, or for the purposes of of habitual prostitution, between March 1, 2016 and April 30, 2022.
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