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closeMacon police joined forces with the Secretary of State’s Office to randomly target 12 massage parlors in a sting operation Wednesday.
As a result, two women were arrested, and authorities issued 10 cease-and-desist orders for the unlicensed practice of massage therapy.
The two agencies started planning the operation about a month ago, Macon police Capt. Jimmy Barbee said.
“They have powers we don’t have. We have powers they don’t have,” he said. “They wanted to check licensing. We wanted to check the illegal end of it.”
Officers found that five of the targeted massage parlors were closed. Of the seven operating massage parlors, there were violations at two: Sedona Tanning Salon, formerly Soft Hands Massage, at 1922 Riverside Drive, and To Your Health Spa, 1420 Riverside Drive, he said.
Barbee said officers used a translator to help speak with the women at the massage parlors about human trafficking.
“They were all there on their own free will,” he said.
Officers hope to work with the Secretary of State’s Office again in the future, depending on the type and number of complaints they receive about the massage parlors, Barbee said.
The two women arrested during the raid, 51-year-old Chun Lee Sook and 41-year-old Hyeon Joo Chae, both charged with prostitution and sexual battery, were released from jail on $3,700 bond early Thursday morning, according to Bibb County jail records.
Chae, the owner of Sedona Tanning Salon, also was issued a nuisance citation, said Macon police Sgt. Mike Kenirey. She could be subject to a fine, and Sedona’s business license could be suspended or revoked, he said.
Kenirey said tanning wasn’t a service offered at Sedona Tanning Salon.
The Secretary of State’s Office issued both women cease-and-desist orders for the unlicensed practice of massage therapy. Chae was cited at Sedona Tanning Salon. Sook was cited at To Your Health Spa, according to the orders.
If the women violate the orders, they could be subject to a $500 fine for “each transaction,” according to the orders.
In addition to cease-and-desist orders issued for Sook and Chae, the Secretary of State’s Office issued orders for two other women at Sedona Tanning Salon and another woman at To Your Health Spa. Cease-and-desist orders also were issued for two women at Angel Spa, 1672 N. Atwood Drive, two women at China Doll, 1091 Eisenhower Parkway, and one woman at Hong Kong Spa, 1550 Rocky Creek Road, according to the orders.
Massage parlors open for business, but which didn’t solicit illegal sex acts, included: Hong Kong Spa; Angel Spa; China Doll; Emerald Spa, 3770 Bloomfield Village Drive; and Blue Sky Spa, 628 Shurling Drive, Barbee said.
Workers at Blue Sky Spa told officers they had to make an appointment for services. The business no longer performs massages, only spa treatments, Kenirey said.
Massage parlors closed for business included: Tokyo Spa, 2790 Riverside Drive; Ultimate Massage, 3355 Pio Nono Ave.; Sauna House, 3457 Pio Nono Ave.; Country Hills Spa, 4378 Pio Nono Ave.; and Friendship Health Spa and Massage, 3706 Mercer University Drive, Barbee said.
Kenirey said officers found a sign posted at Friendship Health Spa and Massage announcing that the business was permanently closing as of March 30.
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