Posted on: September 25, 2024, 01:00h.
Last updated on: September 25, 2024, 01:07h.
Three men have been arrested after police searched an alleged brothel located in a Las Vegas residence where up to 30 men visited per day, according to a police report.
Located near the intersection of Spring Mountain Road and Decatur Boulevard in Chinatown, the operation was the site of sex trafficking, police said.
Two women at the site were the victims of the sex trafficking and one of the women claimed she had been repeatedly sexually assaulted by customers, according to police.
The two told officers they were from China, and had been illegally smuggled into the US via Mexico. They were promised a job in a restaurant, one of the women said.
“She felt like she had no choice but to work as a prostitute due to the fact she was smuggled into the United States illegally, was scared of deportation, had no local contacts, no money, no shelter, or assistance,” according to a police report quoted by Las Vegas TV station KLAS. “Her only way to sustain life in the United States and try and make money to survive was through working in the brothel.”
$252K in Cash Seized
Also located in the residence were about $40K in cash, condoms, lubricants, and business records, all of which were seized by officers.
When police searched another residence where one of the suspects lived, officers located almost $180K. An additional $32K was found in a truck located at the property.
The investigation began in April when a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) undercover officer checked out an online ad for suspected prostitution that featured an Asian woman.
Officers took pictures of men entering the operation who would stay there only “for a short period of time,” according to a police report. Typically, between 20 and 30 men visited the residence each day.
Numerous Charges
Three suspects were identified by LVMPD officers. Two men, Changwei Gao and Leandro Seto, were arrested for allegedly operating the brothel, KLAS reported.
Gao is accused of sex trafficking, conspiring to commit sex trafficking, and living from the earnings of prostitution with physical force or threat of physical force. He’s not yet officially charged. Seto was charged with sex trafficking, conspiring to commit sex trafficking, and an act of encouraging a brothel.
Enlong Cao owns the residence and rented the property to the other two suspects, police said. Cao is facing charges of conducting or attempting to conduct a financial transaction with the intent to evade reporting, and an act of encouraging a brothel. Cao was identified as an undocumented immigrant.
Brothels are illegal in Las Vegas and other locations in Clark County, but licensed brothels are permitted in some parts of Nevada.
