Authorities have uncovered that two men are accused of bringing Chinese women into the country illegally and then forcing them to work as sex workers at an underground brothel in Las Vegas.
According to the records, Changwei Gao and Leandro Seto reportedly operated the brothel out of a residence in Chinatown near the intersection of Spring Mountain Road and Decatur Boulevard. The guys were allegedly rented out by Enlong Cao, a third individual, according to the police.
They alleged that two victims of sex trafficking were found inside the home when investigators raided it on September 11. Police also uncovered “a large number of prostitution-related items to include condoms, lubrication, and records of prostitution activity, including ledgers,” according to their news release. In addition, the police found approximately $40,000 in cash in various locations throughout the property, including in luggage.
Authorities reportedly reported finding over $32,000 in the center console of a truck and nearly $180,000 in one of the suspects’ residences.
A Las Vegas Metro police investigator allegedly came across a photo of an Asian lady who was “scantily dressed” in an online prostitution ad in April. The investigator contacted the advertiser via text message. Someone answered the detective’s call and gave him the address of a Chinatown brothel where he could pay for sexual relations.
Five males were observed by the authorities as they “enter and exit the residence [and] staying for a short period of time” during the home surveillance held on April 23. Across the street, cops installed a surveillance camera after receiving tips about an alleged brothel at that house.
According to the authorities, their surveillance footage showed that twenty to thirty males would access the home daily. Authorities maintained their surveillance of the residence because they believed that additional males supplied “the supplies necessary to operate a brothel” to the females who lived there, according to court records.
According to the investigators, the illegal brothel was still operating in September when they recontacted the telephone listed in the ad.
The two women who were allegedly victims of sex trafficking said police they were brought to the US from Mexico after being trafficked from China, according to the records. Upon arrival in the country, the men allegedly offered the ladies positions in a restaurant, but according to records, they were taken to work in a brothel. The exact time the women unlawfully entered the nation was not disclosed by the police.
A woman who was “smuggled into the United States illegally,” “scared of deportation,” “had no money, no shelter, or assistance,” and “had no choice but to work as a prostitute,” according to the records. “Working in the brothel was her only option for sustaining life in the United States and trying to make ends meet.”
The ladies told the police that they were trapped and had “no way to escape” from their circumstances; one of them even revealed that numerous customers had sexually attacked her.
“She was required to surrender all of her assets unless she had been sexually assaulted,” stated the police.
According to the records, Cao is facing allegations of encouraging a brothel and engaging in or trying to engage in a financial transaction with the purpose to avoid reporting.
Sex trafficking, conspiring to commit sex trafficking, and living off the proceeds of prostitution with physical force or fear of physical force are the allegations against Gao, according to records.
Prosecutors have charged Seto with sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy, and fostering a brothel, according to court documents.
Cao and Seto were apprehended by the authorities following the raid on September 11. Cao was identified as an undocumented immigrant who had entered the US twenty years earlier. Judge Rebecca Saxe of the Las Vegas Justice Court freed Cao on his own recognizance as no criminal charge was filed when he first appeared. His next court date was set for October 10th.
Seto had his court date set for October 16th after posting bond. On Tuesday, an arrest warrant was issued for Gao.
Citing a decision by a circuit court, the Las Vegas Metro Police Department has decided not to share booking images. Despite not being classified as suspects, multiple more individuals are mentioned in official police records.
Clark County, where Las Vegas is located, is one of the smaller counties in Nevada that does not permit licensed brothels.
