Houston massage parlor emergency shut down for suspected human trafficking – Houston Public Media

A Houston massage parlor suspected of human trafficking has been emergency shut down for six months by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

Foot Reflexology Star, 10801 Spring Cypress Rd., is the first closure issued under House Bill 3579, which gives the department’s executive director the authority to issue an emergency order to close any massage establishment suspected of drug trafficking. ‘Human being.

The bill took effect on September 1, 2023, and the north Houston massage parlor was closed on May 30.

During an inspection, department inspectors found “reasonable grounds that human trafficking may be occurring at the facility,” according to the department.

“TDLR employees are on the front lines of the fight against human trafficking in Texas, and we are grateful to the Texas Legislature for giving us this additional tool to help us stop human trafficking every time we we are witnessing this,” interim director Brian Francis said in a statement.

The department did not detail immediate signs of human trafficking at the business, but said an inspection of the massage parlor revealed “several indicators that are typically present when human trafficking takes place in a massage establishment.”

The owner of the establishment also had a prior enforcement matter with TDLR involving similar conduct, according to the department.

“For too long, human traffickers have been able to hide what they are doing in massage establishments,” Francis said. “But now, with this law in effect, we will work with our local law enforcement partners to combat these traffickers and eradicate these destructive crimes against vulnerable people.”

HB 3579 authorizes the department’s chief executive officer to issue an emergency order to close the massage establishment if:

• a law enforcement agency gives notice to the department
• department learns law enforcement agency is investigating parlor for human trafficking
• the ministry has reason to suspect the company

The bill was authored by State Rep. Ben Bumgarner and sponsored by Sen. Phil King.