Collier County Sheriff's Office cracks down on illicit massage businesses - FOX 4 News Fort Myers WFTX

[Andrew Shipley]

NAPLES, Fla. — Three people were arrested this week as a result of an ongoing multi-agency operation led by the Collier County Sheriff’s Office focused on identifying illicit conduct at area massage businesses and the people who manage these criminal establishments

Collier County Sheriff’s Office says more than a dozen arrests have been made, and 13 illicit massage businesses have shut down because of the operation.

Florida House Bill 197, which took effect last year, regulates massage therapy establishments and aims to combat human trafficking and other illicit activities. The Collier County Sheriff’s Office was instrumental in crafting the law and getting it passed.

“It is our mission to protect vulnerable individuals who are being exploited in these illicit massage businesses and who are potential human trafficking victims, and to arrest the designated operators of these criminal enterprises,” Sheriff Rambosk said.

On Thursday and Friday, members of the Southwest Florida INTERCEPT Task Force, which included members of CCSO, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Twentieth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office, Cape Coral Police Department, and Naples Police Department, along with members of the Florida Department of Health, conducted inspections at three illicit massage businesses.

Three arrests were made after numerous violations were discovered. Violations included customer and employee records that were illegible and incomplete, and employees living at one of the establishments.

Collier County Sheriff’s Office says they made the following arrests:

-Rui Zhang, 46, of Naples, designated establishment manager, Water Lily Spa, 7785 Davis Blvd., Naples. Charges: failure to provide required customer records and permitting sleeping or napping at the establishment. Detectives observed large amounts of food, toiletries, a shower, bedding, and other indications that people were living at the business.

-Ling Xu, 53, of Monterey Park, CA. designated establishment manager, True Dream Spa, 4131 Tamiami Trail E., Naples. Charges: failure to provide required customer log (2 counts).

-Jinzhu Cai, 46, designated establishment manager, Massage, 10283 Tamiami Trail N., Naples. Charges: failure to provide required customer records (3 counts) and failure to provide employee logs (3 counts).