Two women were arrested on suspicion of prostitution last week in a sweep of local massage parlors conducted by undercover police detectives.
The arrests, part of an ongoing operation by the Redondo Beach Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit, occurred Oct. 13. Detectives arrested Vilma Ramirez, 33, a Bell Gardens resident and an employee of Lee’s Acupuncture on Aviation Boulevard, and Hye Son, 32, a Los Angeles resident and employee of Ocean Acupuncture on Artesia Boulevard.
RPPD Sgt. Jon Naylor said that the sting operations resulted from a large number of complaints police have received lately concerning suspicious activity at massage parlors.
“I think it is concerning, because of the complaints we get and especially the volume we are getting,” Naylor said. “And these places are located close to residential areas.”
Police arrested three women on suspicion of prostitution earlier this month. Detectives arrested Xiang Barker, 47, the owner and massage practitioner at Sunflower Massage; Mun Mi Jung, 31, an employee at Ace Acupressure; and Yushan Piao, 47, an employee at Redondo Therapy Massage Center.
Naylor said police are seeking more information from the public as they continue to investigate massage parlors.
“A lot of really important input is from the community,” he said. “A lot of times they see suspicious things that we don’t necessarily see, so we really encourage anyone if they see something suspicious to give us a call.”
Anonymous tips can be called in to (310) 937-6685, emailed to crimetips@redondo.org or sent via text message to (310) 339-2362. ER
