Police Officers discovered a prostitution ring in a massage parlor after a sewer line became clogged with condoms.
The massage parlor in Northwest Austin was discovered to be a prostitution ring after a sewer pipe at the business was destroyed by hundreds of condoms, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
A realty company had recently taken over the property, located in a shopping center, where the prostitution ring was doing business as Jade Massage Therapy LLC.
Police were tipped-off about the prostitution ring in early February when, according to an affidavit, several tenants became worried that illicit activities were occurring after an industrial disposal unit connected to the City’s sewer line was clogged with hundreds of condoms.
The clogged line was not the only piece of evidence that led investigators to uncovering the ring allegedly owned by a woman named Juan Wang and her husband, Joseph Emery.
Two days prior to receiving the tip, Wang was reportedly stopped by security at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport after she was discovered carrying $30,000 in cash.
Wang reportedly told police that the money was for a medical procedure she had been saving for in China.
Wang allegedly claimed that she only made $20,000 a year at Jade Massage. When the police pointed out to her that she was carrying 18 months of income, she reportedly became visibly nervous.
She gave the police a contact phone number to reach her at and then boarded her flight to China.
When police investigated the phone number, they reportedly discovered it was linked to a Backpage.com account that had advertisements for “sexual services” at her business.
Police were able to obtain a search warrant based off the evidence gathered and executed it on March 22. Investigators found reportedly Wang with a naked man and another nude couple in a separate room. They also found more than $65,000 in a safe at Wang and Emery’s home, according to the local paper.
Investigators claimed that 12 women worked at Jade Massage lived with Wang and Emery at their home. Police found records of the names with hundreds of receipts with excessive tips paid.
Wang and Emery have not yet been placed in custody as of Tuesday, but they face charges of engaging in organized criminal activity and money laundering.
Ryan Saavedra is a contributor for Breitbart Texas and can be found on Twitter at @RealSaavedra.
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