MONTREAL - Police arrested two massage parlour owners Thursday night in Montreal's north end for allegedly employing minors who performed sexual acts on clients.

Both owners, 35-year-old Than Lan Luu Pham and 28-year-old Gabriel Thouin, were charged with pimping minors and adults, as well as being found in a common bawdy-house.

Pham was additionally charged with human trafficking.

Police said that a 16-year-old and two 17-year-olds were among the women working in the parlours, which have been under police surveillance since January.

"There weren't just minors. There were many women working there," said Lt.-Detective Guy Bianchi. "These were salons that offered massages and there was the possibility of getting other options that constitute acts of prostitution."

An employee at one of the parlours was also arrested but released under condition they appear at their court hearing.

A Montreal-based group advocating against the sexual exploitation of sex workers recently tried to tally all the sex-related locations in the Greater Montreal Area and found at least 339. Of those, 199 were massage parlours that offer clients sexual services.