Imlay City couple used massage parlors as front for prostitution ring, police say
IMLAY CITY, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - A man and woman were arrested after police say they operated massage parlors as a front for a prostitution ring in Lapeer County.
According to the Imlay City Police Department, Anthony Joseph Juip, 72, and his wife Qing Feng Xu, 58, are charged with conducting a criminal enterprise and keeping a house of prostitution.
Both Juip and Xu are scheduled back in court on Sept. 26.
Police spent five months investigating the couple's business at 542 N. Cedar St. in Imlay City for an exterior ordinance violation and the legitimacy through city ordinance. Due to an "alarming set of facts," they sent undercover officers into the massage parlor and discovered potential human trafficking and forced sex trafficking," according to police.
Authorities say on Aug. 3, police executed search warrants at that location as well as 420 Lake Nepessing Road in Lapeer.
Police say four Chinese women with work visas were found living in Imlay City and employed by Juip and Xu. Those women were taken into custody and provided with victim assistance pending further investigation.
Investigators revealed that several other women "from out of town have been rotated in and out of these businesses over the course of the past year."
Additionally, police say majority of the clientele visiting the businesses were from out of town and drove to the city from 40 to 50 minutes away.
"The dismantling of this criminal enterprise by this police department should send a clear message to anyone- that The Imlay City Police Department and the people of Lapeer County will not allow bad actors to exploit vulnerable individuals for profit through prostitution and human trafficking," Imlay City Police Chief Brett Selby said in a press release.
Selby said the investigation is ongoing.
Authorities urge any woman who had contact with the businesses to call the Imlay City police at 810-724-2345.