San Diego Asian Massage parlors

Escondido – An Escondido massage parlor is closed after police say it was a front for prostitution.

Detectives were alerted a few weeks ago about suspicions that “Oriental Therapy” on East Valley Parkway was offering more than massages. Officers went undercover and discovered the allegations were true.

No one was arrested and ‘Oriental Therapy’ willingly shut its doors.

Neighboring businesses didn’t want to talk on camera. They tell CW6 News that they didn’t see anything unusual and ‘Oriental Therapy’s’ customers looked normal. After the bust, police decided to look at other massage businesses.

“Most of these businesses are legitimate businesses, but there are several that really are fronts for prostitution and human trafficking type crimes, ” says Lt. Edward Varso from the Escondido Police Department.

During the operation, twenty-two massage businesses were inspected in the joint operation with the Escondido Police Department, the city’s code enforcement, the fire department, city attorney’s office and state agencies. Police say fifteen businesses violated city codes, ten businesses were in violation of fire and life safety related laws and $10, 000 in state fines were given to several businesses. None of the massage parlors were given tickets for prostitution.