SAN ANTONIO — The State of Texas closed a San Antonio massage business on the north side for suspected human trafficking, officials said.
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation issued a six-month emergency closure order for San Massage Spa on Jackson Keller Road effective July 22.
During an inspection in June, the TDLR found numerous signs that led officials to believe human trafficking could be occurring within the business. These indicators included employees wearing provocative clothing and lingerie, a container in the public viewing area that contained several used and open condoms, no client consultation documents, and several household items that indicated people were living in the building.
Investigators also found that San Massage Spa had sexually explicit advertisements on the internet.
The business initially received a warning letter after a previous inspection in 2023 regarding several violations including having no consultation forms or business records, employing unlicensed massage therapists and evidence of people living in the facility.
Dottie Laster has decades of experience advocating on behalf of human trafficking victims and fighting for missing persons.
She's been trained by the U.S. Department of Justice to educate law enforcement, businesses and organizations nationwide on how to identify the signs of human trafficking.
“There were conditions that you don’t normally see when you get to get just a massage like the manner of dress and the fact that it looked like they lived there," Dottie said. “Were there all-men clients, were there people that you know work there but you never saw them leave.”
Laster stressed the community has a role to play in helping authorities crack down on such illegal activity.
“Behind closed doors, that’s where commercial sex happens. We’re not going to see that. We’re just going to give authorities enough to look further and ask questions. The community that lives there every day, that works there next door. They can gather valuable information carefully without putting themselves at risk and forward it and I urge you to do so because the beautiful thing is, you can really free someone and save lives."
The current owner of Spa Massage San, Yanqun Cai was listed as a massage therapist during the 2023 inspection.
Anyone who suspects human trafficking is occurring can contact the National Hotline for Human Trafficking at 1-888-373-7888 or text HELP or INFO to BeFree (233733).
You can also file a complaint on a TDLR-regulated business that you suspect may be participating in human trafficking.