The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation has issued a six-month emergency closure order effective November 5, 2024, for a massage establishment in Laredo for suspected human trafficking.
168 Foot Spa, 1705 E. Del Mar Blvd., Suite A107, and owners Huiming Chen and Kijuan Zhang were ordered to stop operating this massage business and are prohibited from operating a different massage establishment at this location for six months.
In mid-October, TDLR inspectors conducted an inspection of the establishment. Inspectors found that employees were living in the establishment, which is prohibited. Employees of the establishment were not licensed in Texas to provide massage therapy services and they did not provide initial consultation documents to massage clients as required. TDLR investigators also found that the establishment advertised sexual services on illicit websites. In addition, the Laredo Police Department had recently conducted an undercover sting of several massage establishments in Laredo, including 168 Foot Spa, that were suspected of providing sexual services to clients. One of the massage therapists at 168 Foot Spa offered sexual services to a police officer and was arrested.
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 fourteenth 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.
