>>5352482
9,000? We have a lot more to shut down.
‘Tentacles’ of trafficking ring expand nationwide, authorities say
.
.
.
Nationwide, an estimated 9,000 illicit massage parlors, many in suburban locations, are in operation, according to Polaris, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that operates the national human trafficking hot line.
Message boards and websites, with reviews and locations, fuel this multibillion-dollar industry, which is often part of an international criminal operation, said Bradley Myles, the chief executive of Polaris.
The women, often from China, Korea, or Thailand, aren’t usually aware that they are coming to the United States to work in “storefront brothels,” he said.
While Florida police said millions of dollars may have moved through the business, the women typically make little outside the tips the men leave, and even that is sometimes withheld by the owners, Myles said.
.
.
.
Investigators were in the process of seizing up to $3 million in Martin County, and Snyder said authorities have followed the movement of $20 million in and out of China. He said his hope is that federal authorities can help expand the investigation beyond what local resources will allow.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/02/22/kraft-charges-part-international-human-trafficking-ring-authorities-say/sjDdLEhJrAhgZRftU5etzJ/story.html#comments