El Sobrante: Police once again raid Appian Way massage parlors in sex trafficking investigation
Police raided two Appian Way suspected brothels in El Sobrante, arrested a man who admitted to paying $80 for illicit services, then followed it up by seizing more than $9,000 in cash from a home in Hayward.
EL SOBRANTE — In what should hardly come as a surprise to any who has been paying attention, police here raided two massage parlors on Appian Way as part of an investigation into sex trafficking at both locations, authorities said.
One of the locations, on the 4400 block of Appian Way, has been the subject of at least four separate undercover operations since 2018, and each one resulted in either a “masseuse” offering sexual services to an undercover cop, or a police raid where incriminating evidence was seized. The other location, on the 400 block of Appian Way, had also been the subject of a 2021 prostitution investigation, according to police and court records.
This latest investigation was twofold; police raided both locations back in February, then followed it up by going to the Hayward home a person believed to be involved in the operation of one of the brothels, where police seized more than $9,000 in cash, authorities said.
Both brothels were raided after undercover officers went to both locations and were allegedly solicited by sex workers. In one case, a woman there actually took the undercover officer’s hands and placed them on her breasts, then demanded a $60 tip for his massage, authorities said.
In 2022, police seized an assault rifle from the parlor on the 4400 block of Appian Way, after a similar undercover investigation. In 2021, a masseuse at that same location offered sexual services to an undercover officer, who declined them. In 2018, an undercover officer was handed a condom and quoted a price for sexual intercourse there, authorities said.
The man suspected of running that massage parlor has ties to other suspected brothels in the Bay Area, and is under investigation for allegedly promoting prostitution in Texas, authorities said.
The parlor on the 400 block of Appian Way was also investigated, in 2021, after a man reported that a masseuse performed a sex act after a massage, which he told police he didn’t want to happen, authorities said.