18 Arrested in Bay Area-Wide Massage Parlor Bust

More than 400 law enforcement officers raided 13 massage parlors in what authorities are calling the largest sting of its kind the Bay Area has ever seen.

The Alameda County District Attorney says the 13 massage parlors, all now shut, were anything but legit.

β€œIt was determined these massage parlors and spas were fronts for prostitution going on inside,” Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley said.

Officers arrested 18 people during the raid.

Investigators said the owners and managers of the operations, as well as the 50 or so women who worked at them, were being interviewed Friday.

β€œAt this point we're looking at them as victims, potential victims of human trafficking or labor trafficking,” O'Malley said.

All of the massage parlors involved in the investigation are in Alameda County -- Oakland, San Leandro, San Lorenzo and Hayward -- but other locations were searched in Contra Costa, San Mateo, Solano, Santa Clara and Sonoma counties.

Those arrested are expected to be arraigned in court in Oakland on May 6.

Authorities say the investigation is still ongoing.

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