Las Vegas police, FBI bust human trafficking ring operating out of local massage parlors

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A two-year investigation into human trafficking and money laundering has resulted in four arrests, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department announced in a press release Friday morning.

LVMPD detectives worked with the FBI on the investigation, which officials say led to the discovery of a transnational money laundering operation through massage parlor brothels.

"These brothels would operate as massage businesses but would also conduct illegal criminal activity such as soliciting sex acts from customers," officials stated.

According to police, those businesses included Midnight Rose Spa on east Desert Inn Road, Jones Station Karaoke & Bar near Jones Boulevard and Spring Mountain Road, and Young Spa on east Flamingo Road near Maryland Parkway.

The four people arrested for operating these businesses face several felony charges, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and use of facilities of interstate commerce for a racketeering enterprise.

They were identified as follows:

• Hua Xiao, a 35-year-old Chinese national
• Cheng Cheng Li, a 41-year-old Chinese national
• Jianming Li, a 53-year-old Chinese national
• Jisup Hwang, a 27-year-old South Korean national

Police note that Jisup was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service in California and will be booked into a federal detention center. Hua, Cheng and Jianming were booked into the Henderson Detention Center.

"Human trafficking remains a priority for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department," Sheriff Kevin McMahill stated in the prepared release. "With the assistance of our federal partners, we are committed to protecting those vulnerable individuals who are victims of human trafficking and bringing to justice those who commit these crimes."

FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher S. Delzotto wrote that the arrests highlight "the necessity for a sustained law enforcement effort across all levels to dismantle and thoroughly investigate the organized criminal enterprises behind these illegal operations profiting from illicit prostitution."