MAUMEE, Ohio — Maumee police raided a massage parlor on Holland Road on June 18.
Reports said the business, 1655 Healing Studio, was being used for prostitution and human trafficking but marketed as a massage parlor.
Maumee Police Det. Sgt. Andrew Dean said the studio was brought to the department's attention back in early May.
"Maumee did not know that that business was open until a Toledo detective contacted me," Dean said. "He advised us that he found some interesting things about what people were saying about that business."
Dean said the tip kicked off a five-week investigation. Police found more than 40 online posts about the business on websites promoting prostitution dating back to February of 2024.
Nearby businesses declined on-camera interviews but told WTOL 11 they found 1655 Healing Studio's operations to be suspicious.
But since they couldn't say definitively something illegal was happening, they stayed away.
Taniece Temple, a human trafficking survivor and the founder and president of Pretty Loved & Destined Nonprofit, said the community should never be afraid to speak up. She said speaking up, even anonymously, can be beneficial to victims.
"What I have learned is if it looks wrong, it is wrong." Temple said, "I've learned from other experienced women who've been in the field. They have never once told me that they felt like something was wrong and there was actually nothing going on."
After weeks of investigation, Dean said the department raided the parlor and arrested one woman, Yi Uyun Kurzban. She told police she was not the ring leader and that there was a man who would drop off new girls and pick up the ones who'd been staying at the business. The women all lived in the building and were working there, too.
Police also rescued two women who were working at the studio and sent them to a shelter. They also shut down the businesses permanently, but Dean said this issue is far from over.
"A lot of times when these types of businesses are raided, they're open a couple of days later," Dean said. "There's a lot at stake. Unfortunately, ours will close. But, I think it's going to open up somewhere else."
He said the Maumee Police Department is attempting to make sure illegal businesses like 1655 Healing Studio don't pop up elsewhere in the city, but said there isn't a surefire way to prevent them akll.
Temple, who's dealt with human trafficking herself, is focused on the victims and wants them to become survivors. She said compassion from the community is necessary to help the victims move forward and that even though the victims were working for the massage parlor, they were still human trafficking victims.
"You get money and stuff like that, you're doing it and you still don't want to do it. Once you're in it, it's like all you know," she said.
The investigation is still ongoing, Dean said.
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