HOUSTON -- Modern-day slavery is a $9 billion a year worldwide industry, and Houston is one of the hubs for this business, the News2Houston Investigators reported Thursday.

Women and children desperate to come to this country have no idea the life of servitude that waits for them -- a life where they're forced to pay off enormous smuggling debts by working in some of our city's so-called massage parlors and 24-hour spas.

RESOURCES The Protection Project Human Trafficking.com Polaris Project GOVERNMENT CODES Texas Bill No. HB869: Trafficking Of Persons Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act Of 2003 STUDY URI: Sex Trafficking Of Women In The United States FINDLAW.COM The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico NY Times Magazine Abstract: "The Girls Next Door" 2001 State Dept. 'Trafficking in Persons' Report REPORT TRAFFICKING Hotline: (888) 428-7581

A girl young enough to enjoy cartoons was old enough to be shipped to the United States like human cargo.

As she watched TV, an undercover agent counted the money used to sell her life.

News2Houston obtained a copy of the undercover video.

"OK, there's $18,000. That was the amount, the full amount," the undercover agent said. "Are you ready? I have your passports."

"It's a worldwide problem. It's epidemic," said Mike McMahon, the associate special agent-in-charge.

It's an epidemic that spreads from the Far East to Houston to all points in between -- young women smuggled into this country and forced to work as prostitutes in massage parlors and 24-hour spas. They are the victims in what many consider a victimless crime.

This case began in a Thailand hotel room, where undercover agents tried to ensnare a smuggling operation by negotiating to bring two women to Houston.

"This will get you in, and that's what our deal is -- $18,000 to get you in," the undercover agent said.

"They come from (Thailand) to Narita (Japan), Narita to Houston," a man said.

Immigrant agents broke the back of an organization that smuggled the faces of the innocent to Houston, officials said.

Most women thought they would be working in restaurants or hotels, but in turn, were forced to prostitute themselves at spas and massage parlors. It's the only way they can pay off their smuggling debt.

"Many times they're denied medical care. They're kept in small groups. Their passports are removed, restricting them from travel. They are not allowed to communicate with family members," McMahon said.

A smuggling debt can run anywhere from $40,000 to $50,000. Yellow self-sticking notes were on the wall of a Houston massage parlor. Marks showed just how many men the women were forced to sleep with every day to pay off their smugglers.

If the women don't turn a profit, then they are shipped off to other cities. Or the smugglers start in with the threats.

"It's the threat of harm against their family members in the countries they've come from. And many times, that's the greatest threat the smugglers have," McMahon said.

Most of the women caught up in the government's investigation were sent to work in so-called massage parlors and spas. And these businesses are cropping up all over the city, from near downtown, along Highway 59 on the southwest side, and up north on Interstate 45.

Investigators said these types of businesses are where some women are robbed of the very freedom they wanted to come here for.

If you have any doubts about what goes on in these businesses, News2Houston sent a 22-year-old woman armed with a hidden camera to apply for a job. However, she was free to leave at anytime. Some are not so lucky.

"How (are) you going to work? Can you work full time or just part time?" a man asked the News2Houston woman.

"You look pretty and maybe you could have some experience, you could make money. A lot," another man said.

"Can you start anytime soon? Before Super Bowl?" another man asked.

In the back rooms and dark hallways of these businesses, most jumped at the chance to hire the News2Houston woman.

"What do you use the bed for?" the woman asked at one location.

"I'll explain that later to you, but, you know, it's kind of hard because you've never done this before. Are you from here?" a man asked.

At first, the woman was told there were no openings, but within 10 minutes of leaving a spa, a man called and tried to send her to a client at another spa. While most businesses wanted to hire the News2Houston woman, they were cautious in answering questions about what was expected.

"We mostly (do) lingerie modeling. Some customers, you know, someone should pay some more, so they can, you know, make a movie or something. I don't know exactly, you know," a man said.

"Some people -- they want to touch. Try to touch or something," another man said.

A woman at one location refused to speak English to the News2Houston woman.

In translation, she said, "No, I can't talk English, only Vietnamese. If I speak it, I don't know if you are a cop."

But one man got right to the point.

"Take your clothes off," he told the News2Houston woman.

"No, that's OK, not right now," she said.

"OK, then you can't work here," the man said.

"You're very pretty and we'd love to have you, but this is a little bit different thing," a man at another location said.

The sex slave problem is so prevalent, the Coalition Against Human Trafficking held it's first annual conference in Houston Thursday to discuss the epidemic.

The U.S. government estimates that as many as 20,000 people are smuggled into this country every year for forced labor and sexual exploitation. Worldwide, the numbers near a million, according to officials.