Four arrested in human trafficking operation, fifth suspect at large
CONROE, TX (KTRK) -- Four people are facing charges related to a large scale human sex trafficking operation across Montgomery and Harris counties.
The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, working with with law enforcement from multiple agencies, including Homeland Security and Immigration & Customs Enforcement, raided four businesses in both counties on Thursday. Those locations include:
- Amy Spa - 32015 Highway 249 in Pinehurst
- A business at 9415 Bellaire Blvd in Houston
- Foot Ways Spa - 2111 Spring Cypress Road in Spring
- Elin Spa - 5200 FM 2920 in Spring
At each location, police say they rescued women that had been forced into prostitution. Police say a total of eight women were found, all of them from China, and all between the ages of 20 - 30 years-old.
"It's the truest form of modern day slavery. these people don't have any means. They can't escape. There's only one lifestyle and they are forced into it. It's about money and it's about power, and it's about who has it and who doesn't have it," said Brett Ligon, the Montgomery County District Attorney.
Police also made four felony arrests. The suspects include:
- Jeffrey Lee Wright, 47, of Waller
- Nianying Xie, 43, of Houston
- Thomas Tran, 58, of Spring
- Xing Shi, 39, of Montgomery County
Police are also searching for a fifth suspect, a man named Ginger Wang.
Authorities in Montgomery County, and across the region, say they've seen a steady increase in cases of human sex trafficking in recent years, most of it stemming from Houston. However, authorities say that the Houston area is just one among many other, where mostly women and children are bought and sold for sex in shady storefront businesses, as well as, on the Internet.
According to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC), since 2007 there have been 2,267 victims of human trafficking in Texas alone. So far this year, 214 cases have been reported in the Lone Star State. Authorities say there are thousands more victims that are never reported.
For more information on Human Trafficking, got to the NHTRC website: http://www.traffickingresourcecenter.org/
