Lacey police cracking down on illegal activity at several massage businesses - KOMO News

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LACEY, Wash. — The Lacey Police Department is taking action to shut down businesses doubling as fronts for prostitution and human trafficking.

Officials said seven businesses in Lacey are suspected of offering more than massages. Police Chief Robert Almada said those businesses didn’t have the proper licensing and certifications and received several complaints from community members of illegal activity.

“The community is going and seeking legitimate services and realized that this place is probably performing prostitution and other types of activities, and that’s not what they’re interested in getting," said Almada.

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Almada said they’ve been investigating these businesses for the past year and found evidence of what has been happening behind closed doors.

“They had folks that didn’t appear to know to do actual massages. They had workers dressed in lingerie, they had some unconventional tipping practices requests, and their hours of operation were unusual," he added.

During a city council meeting Tuesday, Almada and other council members spoke about the issues with the current ordinance regarding licensing, certification, and hours of operation. Now, they're working on making changes.

“They must have the proper certifications. They wouldn’t be allowed to employ minors at the location, and their hours of operation would be defined in this ordinance, so they can’t be open all night hours," said Almada.

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Almada said the changes would require those licenses to be present and visible on the wall or within the facilities. He added that this would tarnish the reputation of other massage parlors that are trying to help the community.

"We want them to be able to operate and not be stained by the specter of these illegitimate businesses, and frankly, we have folks who are seeking those services, and they’re taken aback when they realize they’re not getting the services they thought they would be getting," he stated.

Officials said they continue investigating and working to crack down on more of this illegal activity.

The city council is expected to vote later this month on the amended ordinance.