A Georgia massage parlor owner who was accused of running a human trafficking operation out of her Roswell business was released on bond on January 12, WSB-TV reported.
According to jail records, 33-year-old Hui Wang of Johns Creek was arrested on charges of trafficking for labor servitude and unlawful advertisement of massage therapy on January 10.
Wang was accused of using a Chinese website to recruit victims.
In police interviews, two of her alleged victims said they were forced to work 12-hour shifts seven days a week with no time off. Wang allegedly told the victims to offer to perform illicit acts on customers. To keep them thin, Wang forced them to drink weight-loss teas and take supplements.
During a search of the massage parlor, police found women who were living in the business.
Roswell police shut down seven massage parlors earlier this month that were operating illegally.
Roswell is currently enforcing a 90-day moratorium on business license applications for new parlors and spas while city leaders amend city ordinances to close loopholes that allowed parlors and spas closed for illegal activities like human trafficking to reopen within 48 hours under new ownership.
Cody Hatchcock, who works next door to Wang’s massage parlor said he had no idea what was going on in the business until he heard about Wang’s arrest. Describing the human trafficking ring as “horrendous,” Hatchcock told WSB-TV that was glad it had been “rooted out” and hoped that the parlor would be replaced by “a more upbeat community-forward kind of business.”
Wang’s arrest and the closures were not related to the Roswell Police Department’s arrests of three individuals in a human trafficking operation in September.
The suspects in those arrests also operated massage parlors and spas in the area.
