BARDSTOWN, Ky. — Three people in Bardstown have been arrested in connection to a human trafficking investigation.
According to the Bardstown Police Department, 69-year-old Myong Hui Evans, 53-year-old Shizhe Jin and 48-year-old Guihua Fang are charged with permitting prostitution and human trafficking.
"There potentially could be hundreds of victims," Bardstown Detective Eric Williamson said.
Police said officers executed two search warrants relating to a human trafficking investigation Wednesday morning at Mi Ya Ko Spa and Sunrise Massage & Body Work, located within a five-minute drive of each other.
Police say Evans owns Mi Ya Ko Spa, and Jin and Fang co-own Sunrise Massage & Body Work.
Williamson detailed what he says officials discovered inside the businesses.
"The workers are living inside the spas, and [in] one of them, one of the workers was sleeping in the kitchen on a very thin blanket and cooking food on a hot plate," he said. "The conditions inside both these locations are deplorable."
Williamson says the two victims they located are both non-English speaking. He believes both businesses have been exploiting people for profit since opening, in 2002 and 2017, respectively.
Bardstown PD says they got a tip from a community member in February 2022. Since then, police have been piecing together evidence through surveillance and traffic stops.
Authorities said victims were found at both locations and have been connected with Catholic Charities to provide for the victims' immediate needs, including housing and getting in contact with family members.
This is part of an issue that extends far beyond Bardstown.
Williamson said this case is connected to illicit massage parlors in multiple other states, what he estimates to be a $5 billion industry nationwide.
"And in Kentucky, that number has gone up significantly over the last several years," he said. [These victims] don't have anybody to help them, so they're caught in a perpetual system."
Detectives continue to stress how common these situations have become.
Williamson said if you notice spas operating under strange hours, or have primarily male clients, to contact them.
"This is a huge network, we just got a small piece," Williamson said.
The Nelson County Sheriff's Office and the Kentucky Attorney General's office assisted in the investigation.
Bardstown Police said the investigation remains open and ongoing, and they expect to make more arrests and find more victims down the line.
If anyone has any information related to this case, please contact the department at (502) 348-6811. You can ask to remain anonymous or contact the anonymous tip line at (502) 348-HEAT (4328).
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