2 Macomb County spas operated human trafficking ring, sheriff says
(CBS DETROIT) - The Macomb County Sheriff's Office says 12 people were arrested Wednesday in connection with a human trafficking bust.
Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham said the investigation into the human trafficking ring began in February 2024.
Six of the individuals taken into custody were in the U.S. illegally, Wickersham said.
"It was six individuals — four females and two males — that were taken by customs and border patrol due to their illegal status in the country," Wickersham said.
Spa 25 in Shelby Township and Healing Plus Spa in Sterling Heights were both raided on Wednesday.
Additionally, three homes — two in Shelby Township and one in Warren — were searched. Initially, it was believed investigators were moving in on a prostitution ring until they dug deeper and learned it was much worse.
"The people that are working inside these massage parlors, they don't have much of a choice; they come into the country. They have no transportation, no education; they're living in these deplorable conditions and going from business to the home where individuals are supervising them, and what we say is basically keeping them locked up, and they don't have any freedom," Wickersham said.
Investigators confiscated $25,361 in cash, high-end jewelry and a small amount of cocaine.
"I commend the outstanding efforts of the SET Team, Sterling Heights PD, Border Patrol and the FBI," Wickersham said. "Their collaborative efforts and effective work concluded in the arrests of human traffickers in Macomb County."
The Macomb County Prosecutor's Office charged the following seven people who were arrested in the bust:
Chun Jin, 48, of Macomb, is charged with the following:
- Prostitution/Pandering, a 20-year felony
- Prostitution/Accepting Earnings, a 20-year felony
- Keeping a House of Prostitution, a five-year felony
- Conspiracy to Commit Prostitution/Keeping a House of Prostitution, a five-year felony
- Aiding and Abetting, a 93-day misdemeanor
- Disorderly Person-Loitering at House of Ill Fame, a 90-day misdemeanor
Chengai Jin, 54, of Macomb, and the spouse of Chun Jin, is charged with the following:
- Prostitution/Accepting Earnings, a 20-year felony
- Prostitution/Pandering, a 20-year felony
- Keeping a House of Prostitution, a five-year felony
- Conspiracy to Commit Prostitution/Keeping a House of Prostitution, a five-year felony
- Disorderly Person-Loitering at House of Ill Fame, a 90-day misdemeanor
Jorge Ruiz-Diaz, 22, of Utica, was charged with possession of a controlled substance less than 25 grams, a four-year misdemeanor.
Yeong Sil Kim, 63, of Utica, was charged with accosting and soliciting prostitution, a 93-day misdemeanor and disorderly person-loitering at a house of ill fame, a 90-day misdemeanor.
Zhanghuan Peng, 50, of Utica, was charged with the following:
- Transporting a Person for Prostitution, a 20-year felony
- Prostitution/Accepting Earnings, a 20-year felony
- Keeping a House of Prostitution, a five-year felony
- Conspiracy to Commit Prostitution/Keeping a House of Prostitution, a five-year felony
- Aiding and Abetting, a 93-day misdemeanor
Jie Liang, 61, of Eastpointe, was charged with keeping a house of prostitution, a five-year felony, and Lin Jun Zhou, 49, of Utica, was charged with accosting and soliciting prostitution, a 93-day misdemeanor.
"Charging individuals involved in human trafficking is not just about enforcing the law; it is about dismantling networks that exploit and dehumanize innocent people. Thank you to all the law enforcement agencies that worked together to stop this ring of traffickers," said Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido.