The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation has issued a six-month emergency closure order effective July 22, 2024, for San Massage Spa in San Antonio (2500 block of Jackson Keller Rd) for suspected human trafficking.
During an inspection in June 2024, TDLR inspectors found numerous indicators that led them to believe that human trafficking could be occurring, including:
- Employees wearing provocative clothing and additional lingerie items found onsite
- An empty cooking oil container in the kitchen area that contained numerous used and open condoms
- No client consultation documents that are required before providing massage therapy
- Items that indicated that people were living in the establishment
Inspectors also found that the business was associated with illicit sexual advertising on the internet.
After a previous inspection in 2023, the establishment had received a warning letter from TDLR regarding several program violations, including having no consultation forms or business records, employing unlicensed massage therapists and evidence of persons living on the premises. The current owner of the establishment, Yanqun Cai, had been listed as a massage therapist during the 2023 TDLR inspection.
HB 3579, passed in the 88th Legislature Regular Session, went into effect Sept. 1, 2023. Under the law, TDLR’s executive director can issue an emergency order halting the operation of any massage establishment if law enforcement or TDLR believes human trafficking is occurring at the establishment. This order is the third emergency order issued by TDLR since the law went into effect.
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). If the situation is an emergency or you believe someone is in immediate danger, call 911 and alert the authorities.
You can also file a complaint on a TDLR-regulated business that you suspect may be participating in human trafficking.