FRANKLIN: Feb 25, 2015 - 5 rescued from Human Trafficking in massage spa prostitution raid

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Five people were rescued from Human Trafficking Wednesday after authorities raided six locations in connection to a massage parlor prostitution case.

Seven people were arrested, six vehicles seized and nearly $100,000 in cash confiscated by authorities.

Wednesday’s operations were prompted by citizen complaints and an in-depth investigation into suspicious activity at the Oriental Massage Center at 400 Sugartree Lane.
Deborah FaulknerPolice Chief Deborah Faulkner

The owner of the massage spa, Guoku Hu, also owns Capital Chinese Foot Spa Massage on Mallory Lane, located next to a busy strip mall and directly across the street from Centennial High School.

Hu, 55, is charged with two counts of sex trafficking, money laundering, and promoting prostitution.

The others arrested were:

Rui Hu: Sex trafficking and money laundering
Jun Li: Promoting prostitution and money laundering
Yajun Shi: Prostitution
Yuzhen Han: Impersonation of a license professional
Sheng En Sun: Impersonation of a license professional
Yan Feng Wang: Impersonation of a license professional

Police Chief Deborah Faulkner said in a news conference that during their lengthy investigation, clients were observed looking “nervous” as they left the businesses.

In addition to the massage parlors, search warrants were executed at four Franklin apartments associated with the business.

“If they think we’re going to put up with it, they’ve guessed wrong. We don’t see a lot of this in Franklin and we aren’t going to see it,” Police Chief Deborah Faulkner said. “We are not going to tolerate it. We’re not fooling around here.”

The five victims rescued from human trafficking are being assisted by End Slavery Tennessee, an organization that aims to promote healing of human trafficking survivors and confront slavery across the state.

The investigation is ongoing. Police said they plan to review client records as part of their investigation.