Arrests made, victims rescued in large human trafficking ring bust

CONROE, Texas – Four people are behind bars after a human trafficking crackdown that was months in the making.

Investigators are still looking for a fifth person, identified as Jinger Wang, 33. The five are believed to be the organizers of the ring.

"This case came in with tips from public. They were seeing high traffic at a home in The Woodlands. Law enforcement began to do enormous amount of surveillance at this house. These individuals were  moving these females around from location to location," Tyler Dunman, Special Crime Bureau chief for the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, said.

After observing the home for months, they discovered four different locations the girls were being taken. One of the centralized locations was in Houston's Chinatown at 9415 Bellaire Blvd.

"These people are living out of suitcases, they are in cramped quarters, they are living in squalor, they are eating off of hot plates, you have animals being treated better than humans are," Brett Ligon, Montgomery County district attorney, said.

During the search warrants, investigators rescued eight victims of human trafficking between 20 and 30 years old, who were being forced to have sex for money.

"They come into the country, usually escorted by one of the people in organized crime group. They may be brought to New York or California, and they move them around the country," Lt. Philip Cash, with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, said.

Authorities said each of the following locations were searched and victims of human trafficking were found:

1)    Amy Spa, 32015 Highway 249, Pinehurst, Texas (Montgomery County)
2)    9415 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, Texas (Harris County)
3)    Foot Ways Spa, 2111 Spring Cypress Road, Spring, Texas (Harris County)
4)    Elin Spa, 5200 FM 2920, Spring, Texas (Harris County)

The victims have been taken to a safe place, investigators said.

Four people were arrested in connection with the ring, Thomas Tran, Nianying Xie, Jeffery Wright, and Xing Shi. Law enforcement is still in search of Wang and asking for the public's help.