Kokomo business part of human trafficking investigation - Washington Times Herald

[mnews]

KOKOMO — Authorities executed a search warrant at a local massage parlor earlier this week as part of an 11-month-long investigation into alleged human trafficking and financial crimes.

According to a Lafayette Police Department media release, two parlors — The Kokomo Massage at 3841 S. Lafountain St. and Royal Massage at 405 Sagamore Parkway South in Lafayette — were the only intended targets of the executed search warrants.

Per the release, the investigation into the activities conducted there “determined that the establishments were being used for the purpose of prostitution under the guise of legitimate massage parlors.”

Police added four female victims were recovered during the executed search warrants, though they didn’t indicate whether they were located at the Lafayette or Kokomo locations.

Those women were provided with services, support and shelter by the Lafayette Police Department Victim Advocate to ensure their safety and well-being, the release noted.



Authorities also took the businesses’ owners, 39-year-old Deyang Yu of Carmel and 37-year-old Airu Wang of Zionsville, into police custody as part of the investigation.

Both are facing charges related to corrupt business influence, according to Tippecanoe County Jail records.

Wang is also facing an additional charge of tax evasion, while Yu is facing an additional charge of suspicion of failure to remit taxes held in trust.

Their initial hearings are pending.

'; var element = document.getElementById("sub_message"); element.appendChild(subMessage); console.log("Code Loaded!"); } else { var subMessage = document.createElement('div'); subMessage.id = 'sub-message-top'; subMessage.class = 'panel panel-default'; subMessage.style.backgroundColor = '#eee'; subMessage.style.borderRadius = '5px'; subMessage.style.padding = '10px'; subMessage.style.marginTop = '25px'; subMessage.style.marginBottom = '25px'; subMessage.innerHTML = '

Support local journalism.​

Subscribe Today'; var element = document.getElementById("sub_message"); element.appendChild(subMessage); console.log("Code Loaded!"); } }