Fremont Police Crack Down on Shady Massage Parlors

Fremont police aren’t jerking around when it comes to shady massage parlors.

According to an NBC Bay Area report, the Fremont Police Department is cracking down on “questionable” massage parlors by citing them for building code violations.

Five massage parlors were temporarily shut down as part of the crackdown, which took place the first week of April after police received complaints about possible illegal activities at certain establishments.

While the goal wasn’t to arrest prostitutes, there was certainly some shady business going down at some of the parlors, Fremont spokeswoman Geneva Bosques told Stephanie Chuang of NBC.

When officers arrived at Perfect Sunny Spa, located at 46356 Warm Springs Blvd. #864, a manager flipped a light switch that Bosques said activated every light in the building and served as an alarm. Officers conducted a check of every room and, in once incident, a female fled out of a back door.

At Stars Day Spa, located down the road at 6819 Warm Springs Blvd., a male and female tried to barricade themselves inside a room and were found naked.

A code enforcement officer told NBC that the targeted spas had multiple dangerous code violations, from illegal electrical wiring to illegal plumbing. All had illegally mounted cameras monitoring parking lots and entrances, which police believe are used to keep an eye out in case they come knocking.

Some of the businesses also had unlicensed massage therapists and employees who were scantily clad in lacy or see-through lingerie. According to police, massage therapists must be covered from their upper thigh to their cleavage.

The cited businesses have until early May to correct the code violations.

According to NBC, only one of the temporarily closed businesses, Amazing Spa, located at 34253 Fremont Blvd., has reopened. It was cited for an electrical wiring issue.

No arrests were made during the operation.

Bosques told NBC that the goal was to make it harder for shady businesses to operate and, eventually, drive them out by hitting them in their wallets.

“Every day they’re closed, they’re losing money,” Bosques said.

Watch the NBC Bay Area report here.