Stratford massage parlors raided, 4 women arrested

Police raided two Stratford massage parlors Thursday that are suspected to be part of a prostitution ring with connections to New York City.

Shortly after 1 p.m., officers swept into Heavenly Hands Massage on Yale Avenue and then the Natural Massage Center on West Laurel Road, arresting two employees at each place.

Detectives had been investigating the establishments for a month after receiving reports from neighbors of men parking down the street and walking to the establishments, said Stratford Police Chief Ronald Morello.

At both locations, undercover officers allegedly were offered sex in exchange for money.

When police went to the businesses Thursday, they found only one customer, who appeared to be getting a legitimate massage. But they found hidden surveillance cameras with no monitors - believed to be a mechanism for someone else to track customer traffic.

"It's a network. These women travel around. They get busted, and they go somewhere else," Morello said.

This is the fourth time police have raided Heavenly Hands. As in the past, all of the women either gave addresses in the Flushing section of Queens or had lived there, Morello said.

The women identified themselves as Chun Yu Jin, 47; Jinchun Cui, 42; Jong Rim Park, 55; and Jung Sim Maeng, 57. Each was charged with prostitution, conspiracy, and maintaining a house of prostitution.

Police are also pursuing charges against the people who leased the properties and then sublet them to the accused, who were both running the establishments and performing sexual acts for money, Morello said.

Thursday evening, the four women remained in custody in Stratford awaiting a bail hearing while police worked to confirm their identities. They are scheduled to be in Superior Court next week.