The owner of a massage parlor in Rockland who last week was arrested and charged with sex trafficking is now being held in the custody of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Cumberland County Jail, booking records show.
Tian “Adam” Tao, 54, owner of “Asian Massage” in Rockland was arrested last Thursday by Rockland Police on charges of sex trafficking.
Rockland Police previously coordinated with federal Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) to execute a search warrant at the Rockland massage parlor, during which Customs and Border Protection (CBP) vehicles could be observed parked in front of the building.
Shortly after the raid, The Maine Wire identified Tao as the owner of the “Asian Massage” parlor through state records that showed the parlor was registered under his name as an LLC. Tao also appears to have been the registered agent for other massage locations around the state, including “Nirvana Spa Inc.” in Lewiston.
Police said in December that they believe Tao’s massage parlor is tied to New York-based organized crime.
Booking records at Cumberland County Jail indicate that Tao was arrested by ICE on Thursday and placed on a federal hold for obstructing justice.
ICE detainee records show that Tao’s country of origin is the People’s Republic of China.
The Maine Wire has contacted an ICE spokesperson for additional information regarding Tao’s immigration status, how and when he entered the U.S., and whether he is now in pending removal proceedings following his arrest.
Last month, Rockland Police announced that they had arrested nearly a dozen men on charges of engaging a person for prostitution in connection to their investigation of Tao’s massage parlor.
The December raid on Tao’s “Asian Massage” parlor came as the latest in a series of massage parlors in Maine targeted by law enforcement over the past year over suspected sex trafficking and forced labor.
In September 2024, 58-year-old Richard Qiu of Brooklyn, N.Y., owner of multiple massage parlors throughout Maine, was arrested by Lewiston Police and charged with two counts of sex trafficking (Class D and Class E), forced labor and criminal forfeiture
In May of last year, 45-year-old Changsheng Xiao, also of N.Y., was arrested in Portland at his massage parlor location on Forest Avenue and was charged with criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and aggravated sex trafficking.
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