12/05/12 11:41:50.81 yfvp+vbF
この報道だと、タイ人、中国人、韓国人か．．．
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Police Raid Massage Parlors in North Houston
HOUSTON - A huge raid went down in a North Houston shopping plaza where cops say massage parlors were fronts for prostitution.
A number of women were hauled off in handcuffs and charged with prostitution. The three businesses that were busted are Empire, Crystal and Royal massage parlors on FM 1960.
"They're all fronts for prostitution. That's all there is to it," says Sgt. T.E. Kiser with the Harris County Sheriff's Office.
Undercover deputies were called to the strip mall after owners of other companies in the mall got fed up with what they call criminal activity.
"Complaints that we received of illegal massage parlors and prostitution going on," says Sgt. Kiser.
The raid happened as a school bus full of small children were being dropped off at a daycare in the plaza just two doors down from one of the businesses being busted.
Investigators say some of the alleged prostitutes may have been brought here in a human trafficking ring.
"The girls are from Thailand, China, Korea. One of the girls says she's from Pennsylvania and has a little girl and says her friend told her to come here to make some quick money.
Some may say these girls are victims but they won't talk to us. They're scared for their families abroad," says Sgt. Kiser.
Kiser says none of the three businesses have an operating license or permits to operate a massage parlor and he says none of the workers have a massage license as is required by the state of Texas.
He says the women actually live and sleep in the businesses and actually these same places were busted just a few months ago.
Kiser says they are able to re-open because the owners are difficult to find. He says they pay cash to rent the space in the strip mall. So the owners don't leave a paper trail.
Now Kiser says the owner of the strip mall renting the space have some questions to answer. Investigators believe the three businesses are competition with one another and not affiliated.