ROY, Utah — Four massage parlors in Roy were raided in an early morning operation in which officials served warrants tied to human trafficking and prostitution.
Thursday's busts, which were conducted in coordination with the Utah Attorney General's Office and the Department of Homeland Security, came after months-long investigations into the businesses that were presumed to be involved in illicit activities.
However, no arrests were made during the raids and a spokesperson with the Roy Police Department said none of the actual therapists themselves were targeted, many of whom may be there against their will.
"The massage therapists we're considering victims in this, we are not charging them with any crimes at this point unless we can say that they're part of the larger conspiracy," explained Sgt. Josh Taylor.
The investigations into the Green Foot Spa, Blue Mountain Spa, TSING Spa and Red Elements Spa were spurred by customers and local businesses.
"A lot of times, it's from people that go and get a massage and then they get pressured into something else and they will reach out to us and let us know what happened," said Taylor. "Sometimes it's from other businesses, too, some of these spas sometimes they'll have clients coming in really late at night or very early in the morning outside of what you would consider normal business hours."
During the operation, officials seized several items that will be used as evidence and possibly lead to arrests in the future.
