Colonie massage parlor raids net 10 arrests

Ten people were arrested this week after raids on massage parlors in Colonie as part of what Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said will be a continuing crackdown on human trafficking.

Those arrested during raids at four locations face charges related to prostitution or unauthorized practice of a profession. Those accused of prostitution allegedly offered undercover officers sexual services for a fee. The other charges relate to performing massages without the required state license.

Advocacy groups have said raids on such parlors often involve immigrant women offering sex acts for money and fit a classic trafficking profile. Apple said Friday the arrests were made as part of an effort to take on such trafficking — he noted January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month — though no specific charges related to trafficking were immediately filed.

He said an effort was made to identify those being exploited as sex workers, and he wants to get counseling and other help for those workers.

“Victims in these cases are typically uncooperative, but we hope they can be rescued, and that’s our goal,” Apple said in a statement.

The sheriff’s department was assisted by the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Apple said the FBI provided a Mandarin interpreter.

Each of the spas was operated by individuals who are Chinese.

The sheriff’s department’s Criminal Investigation Unit conducted undercover operations Thursday at the four spas, whose locations were not released. Investigators said they located the spas through advertisements posted on the website Backpage, offering full-service massages.

When undercover investigators entered, they said, they were led to private rooms for massages, and the women would then offer sex acts for a fee.

Nine of the individuals charged gave addresses in New York City, seven in the Flushing section of Queens. The 10th gave a Syracuse address.

Arrested were:

• Jing Jing You, 29, of Brooklyn, charged with prostitution and unauthorized practice of a profession.

• Jing Jay Zhang, 28, of Flushing, charged with unauthorized practice of a profession.

• Yanyun Xie, 32, of Flushing, charged with unauthorized practice of a profession.

• Chi Chick Cheng, 40, of Flushing, charged with promoting prostitution.

• Juan Chen, 40, of Brooklyn, charged with prostitution and unauthorized practice of a profession.

• Yanlin Gao, 42, of Syracuse, charged with unauthorized practice of a profession.

• Jie Wang, 33, of Flushing, charged with prostitution and unauthorized practice of a profession.

• Yunxia Li, 24, of Flushing, charged with unauthorized practice of a profession.

• Qin Yu Wang, 55, of Flushing, charged with prostitution and unauthorized practice of a profession.

• Haiping Wang, 45, of Flushing, charged with prostitution and unauthorized practice of a profession.

Categories: News, Schenectady County