Two women were arrested as a result of a sex trafficking investigation of a spa in Kensington, Montgomery County police said in a Tuesday statement.
On March 6, detectives executed a search and seizure warrant at Elegant Spa and arrested Chang Liu, 34, on multiple counts of sex trafficking and prostitution and Yinlian Wu, 50, on a charge of attempted bribery of a Health and Human Service inspector and multiple counts of prostitution, according to the statement.
Liu’s attorney, Jonathan Portner, and Wu’s attorney, Mark Sobel, did not immediately respond to requests for comment via phone on Tuesday.
Liu of Columbia, Maryland, owned the spa 10555 Metropolitan Ave. in Kensington as well as multiple spas in the county and state, the statement said
The parlor allegedly “offered illicit sex acts in exchange for U.S. currency,” according to the statement.
In October 2023, the Montgomery County Department of Police’s Human Trafficking detectives “became aware of possible prostitution and sex trafficking” occurring at the Kensington spa, the statement said.
Detectives noted that the spa had predominantly male customers and police were able to obtain multiple admissions of “illicit sexual activity” in exchange for money occurring inside the business.
Wu, of Philadelphia, a spa employee, allegedly tried to bribe a Health and Human Services inspector to prevent them from shutting down the establishment, police said.
Detectives also discovered that Liu, Wu and two other women allegedly lived in the spa throughout the investigation, according to police.
Police said they also obtained evidence at the scene, including a large amount of U.S. currency.
Liu and Wu were taken to the county’s Central Processing Unit and released after they each posted bond, police said. Liu’s trial is scheduled to begin on May 2, and Wu’s is set to start on Sept. 4.
Detectives said they believe there may be additional victims that Liu employed and ask them to call the Vice and Intelligence Unit at 240-773-5958.