Arkansas massage parlor owner arrested in human trafficking probe

A man accused of running multiple illicit massage businesses in Hot Springs has been arrested in Oklahoma as part of a months-long human trafficking investigation, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin announced Thursday.

Zengguang “Gary” Liu, a naturalized U.S. citizen from China, was taken into custody earlier this week by the U.S. Marshals Service and Oklahoma City police. Griffin said agents from his office served warrants on Liu in Oklahoma City, linking him to three Hot Springs massage parlors raided last month.

The July 28 raids on AI Massage, Magic Massage, and Diamond Massage were part of “Operation Obscured Vision,” a statewide effort launched in January to combat illicit massage businesses and human trafficking. Griffin said three Chinese women were identified as victims during the operation and offered services.

Investigators believe Liu owned all three businesses and may control similar operations in other states. He faces charges in Garland County of trafficking of persons, an A felony, and unauthorized use of another person’s property to facilitate certain crimes, a B felony.

Authorities seized about $16,000 in cash during the July 28 raids, including foreign currency from China and four other countries. Griffin said interviews with victims revealed a recruitment pattern in which women were lured from China with promises of better-paying jobs in the U.S., then coerced into sex work.

One victim told investigators she spent her life savings to travel from China to Turkey, where she obtained a visa before boarding a cruise ship to Mexico. She said she walked across the U.S. border as part of a migrant caravan, claimed asylum, and was later recruited into illicit massage work in California before being sent to Hot Springs.

Another victim gave a nearly identical account, while a third said she answered an online ad in China before being sent to Los Angeles, working there and in Seattle before ending up in Arkansas.

As part of the July 28 operation, authorities also detained and questioned two customers at separate massage businesses before releasing them.

Griffin said the methods described by the victims match intelligence from law enforcement agencies nationwide, pointing to a network of criminals based in China exploiting vulnerable women.

Since Operation Obscured Vision began Jan. 23, agents have executed coordinated raids in Harrison, Hot Springs, Jonesboro, Little Rock, Rogers and Russellville. Thirteen illicit massage businesses have been searched, resulting in seven arrests, with two warrants still outstanding.

Six of the arrested suspects are Chinese nationals, including three naturalized U.S. citizens. Arrest warrants remain active for Junfang Li, 53, and Yuanbo Xi, 53, both Chinese nationals believed to have fled the country.

To date, investigators have identified 23 victims — all Chinese nationals — with 22 accepting services. More than $107,000 in cash has been seized, including U.S. currency and money from China, Turkey, Thailand, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, and Serbia.

Griffin credited multiple agencies for their assistance, including the Hot Springs Police Department, Arkansas State Police, Homeland Security Investigations, the Little Rock Police Department, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s office, and the nonprofit Into the Light.

Image provided by the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office