Massage parlors around Denton County were closed and cited for violations involving possible prostitution, human trafficking and other related criminal activity.
The Denton County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday afternoon it had conducted investigations on local massage parlors, which ended with four being closed on the day of inspection, six found themselves at the start of the forced closure process and another eight cited for other licensing violations.
According to DCSO, the department’s Human Trafficking Unit and the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation worked together to investigate 18 parlors around the county from June 23-26.
The department was contacted about the specific massage parlor locations, but DCSO has not confirmed, yet.
Local agencies also assisted, including the Lewisville, Flower Mound, Carrollton and The Colony police departments, as well as fire and code enforcement personnel.
“Prior to the inspections, DCSO investigators developed probable cause and obtained search warrants for five businesses as part of ongoing criminal investigations,” said DCSO in a press release.
During the investigations, officials gathered a lot of evidence, which led to the initiation of five aggravated promotion of prostitution cases and two operating without a license cases filed.
Two individuals were taken into custody for immigration status violations and one reported outcry of human trafficking is still being investigated.
In addition, $2,132 in cash was seized.
Officials said ICE provided Chinese-speaking translators and local nonprofit organizations, like Denton County Friends of the Family and Mosaic House Dallas, offered services to potential trafficking victims.
“The Denton County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to working with local, state and federal partners to investigate human trafficking, hold offenders accountable and connect victims with the services they need,” said DCSO.
A pair of massage parlors in Flower Mound were closed in April after DCSO investigated the businesses for prostitution and human trafficking.
