Talk about deja vu.
Vice cops found themselves in familiar territory Jan. 11, when they busted a Korean prostitution ring at 1112 Sansom St.
It was the 19th time in the past 13 years that an investigation had led cops to the same seedy Center City massage parlor, said Narcotics Chief Inspector William Blackburn. Over the years, police have arrested 74 prostitutes at the parlor.
Six more women - several of whom are illegal immigrants - were added to the arrest tally during last week's raid. Police said Kyung-Ae Kang, 35, and Kee-Eun Song, 31, were charged with prostitution, solicitation and related charges.
Joung-Sook Kim, 29; Sun-Ja Kim, 35; and Sun-mi Joung, 32, were all charged with misdemeanors for being in a house of prostitution. Mi-Sook Park, 47, was charged with promoting prostitution. She was overseeing the brothel and the women, cops said.
Blackburn said investigators also recovered $7,516 in cash, more than 3,000 condoms, two laptop computers, one credit-card machine and numerous towels, oils and lotions. Blackburn said the cash amounted to less than eight hours of profits.
The Department of Licenses and Inspections issued a cease-operations order to shutter the massage parlor, but authorities believe it will likely reopen in the future.
"The place has been shut down a number of times in the past," Blackburn said. "But it always reopens. Someone reapplies for a license, and, on the surface, it looks like a legitimate massage parlor."
A simple address sign is the only thing that marks the entrance to the parlor. When an undercover agent ventured inside last week, he was asked to pay a $50 fee for a massage, Blackburn said.
He was quickly propositioned by one woman, who recited prices for sex acts, ranging from $100 to $600. She offered the agent a chance to have sex with three prostitutes at once for the sum of several hundred dollars.
The parlor was less than posh, Blackburn said. Clothes were strewn carelessly throughout the establishment, and a makeshift mattress was assembled with towels and sheets.
Many of the prostitutes didn't speak English, and investigators believe they likely arrived at the massage parlor through human trafficking.
"They rarely leave these particular properties," Blackburn said of the human trafficking victims. "They have little knowledge of the terrain and don't have free rein. It's very disturbing."
Several months ago, federal officials busted a Korean human-trafficking ring that stretched up and down the East Coast and included a brothel in North Philadelphia.
"Given the past history, we don't feel confident that we'll keep this location shut down permanently," Blackburn said. "But if they try to open it again, we're going to have our eyes on them." *