LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Two men are accused of smuggling Chinese women into the United States and forcing them into sex work at an illegal Las Vegas brothel, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned.
Changwei Gao and Leandro Seto allegedly ran the illegal brothel at a home near Spring Mountain Road and Decatur Boulevard in Chinatown, documents said. Police said a third man, Enlong Cao, owned the home and rented it to the men.
On Sept. 11, officers raided the home, finding two victims of sex trafficking inside, they said. Officers said they also found “a large number of prostitution-related items to include condoms, lubrication, and records of prostitution activity, including ledgers.” Police also located large amounts of cash – totaling nearly $40,000 — in suitcases and other places in the residence.
Officers also said they found nearly $180,000 in one of the suspect’s homes and about $32,000 in a truck’s center console.
In April, a Las Vegas Metro police detective found an online prostitution advertisement, which included a photo of a “scantily dressed” Asian woman, documents said. The detective texted the phone number in the ad. A person responded to the detective and directed him to the Chinatown address where he would pay for sexual intercourse.
On April 23, police surveilled the home, watching five men “enter and exit the residence [and] staying for a short period of time.” Because police suspected an illegal brothel at the address, they set up a camera across the street.
Every day, between 20 and 30 men would enter the home, police said their surveillance showed. As police continued to watch the house, they suspected other men provided the women inside with “the supplies necessary to operate a brothel,” documents said.
In September, investigators continued their surveillance and again contacted the phone number in the advertisement, finding the illegal brothel still active, they said.
In an interview with police, the two alleged sex trafficking victims said they were smuggled into the United States from China through Mexico, documents said. The men reportedly offered the women jobs in a restaurant, but once they came into the country, the men sent them to work in the brothel, documents said. Police did not indicate at what time the women entered the country illegally.
“She felt like she had no choice but to work as a prostitute due to the fact she was smuggled into the United States illegally, was scared of deportation, had no local contacts, no money, no shelter, or assistance,” documents said. “Her only way to sustain life in the United States and try and make money to survive was through working in the brothel.”
The women described to police that they had “no way to escape” the situation, with one of the women telling police many customers had sexually assaulted her.
“If she was not sexually assaulted, she had to turn all her money over,” police said.
Cao faces charges of conducting or attempting to conduct a financial transaction with the intent to evade reporting and an act of encouraging a brothel, documents said.
Gao faces charges of sex trafficking, conspiring to commit sex trafficking and living from the earnings of prostitution with physical force or threat of physical force, documents said.
Seto faces charges of sex trafficking, conspiring to commit sex trafficking and an act of encouraging a brothel, documents said.
Police arrested Cao, who police identified as an undocumented immigrant who arrived in the United States two decades ago, and Seto, after the raid on Sept. 11. Because a criminal complaint was not filed at the time of Cao’s initial appearance, Las Vegas Justice Court Judge Rebecca Saxe released him on his own recognizance. He was due to return to court on Oct. 10.
Seto posted bond and was due in court on Oct. 16. A warrant was filed Tuesday for Gao’s arrest.
Las Vegas Metro police no longer release booking photos, citing a circuit court ruling. Several other people are named in police documents but were not listed as suspects.
Licensed brothels are legal in smaller Nevada counties, but not Clark County, which is home to Las Vegas.
8 News Now Investigator David Charns can be reached at dcharns@8newsnow.com.
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