Police said the case began with a tip in 2025 and included surveillance, search warrants and a money trail to casinos and banks.
BRANDYWINE HUNDRED, DE — A human trafficking investigation in New Castle County led to raids at several massage businesses, the rescue of multiple women described as victims and the arrests of four people on prostitution and related charges, police said Tuesday.
The case stretched from a tip received in 2025 to a series of search warrants executed in early 2026 at spas in Hockessin, Wilmington and Newark, according to a New Castle County Police news release. Detectives said they seized nearly $14,000 and tracked suspected proceeds as they moved through local casinos and banks. The arrests brought felony charges for promoting prostitution and for conducting transactions involving proceeds of criminal activity, authorities said.
Police described the women found during the searches as victims and said they were connected with services after detectives made contact during the raids. Master Cpl. Richard Chambers, a spokesman for the New Castle County Police drug and human trafficking investigations team, said the department treats the women at the center of the case as people who need help, not punishment. “These are victims that are involved. These are true victims,” Chambers said in an interview carried by local media.
The investigation focused on what detectives called illicit sexual acts offered during massage appointments at multiple businesses in northern Delaware. Police said detectives received information that clients were being offered sexual acts while receiving massages at Wellness Tui-Na, a business at 1304 Old Lancaster Pike in Hockessin. Surveillance, police said, led detectives to a black Subaru driven by Joseph Johnson, 74, of Pennsville, New Jersey. Investigators said they watched Johnson park behind the Hockessin business, enter and later leave with Mingzi Nan, 62. Detectives then followed the pair to other locations, including Angel Magic Therapy at 2501 Foulk Road in Wilmington and Panda Therapy Massage at 1088A S. Chapel St. in Newark, police said.
Over time, investigators said, the pattern extended beyond spa visits. Police said Johnson and Nan were observed leaving the establishments and traveling to multiple casinos and banks. Chambers said investigators believed the trips were meant to disguise where the money came from. “The two individuals involved directly were taking the money to casinos locally, then banks making deposits, trying to clean the money,” Chambers said. Authorities said the investigation also uncovered claims that some workers were not being paid and that at least some women were brought to the United States for the purpose of sex trafficking. Chambers said some women involved were brought here “for the sole purpose of sex trafficking,” describing what police see as organized exploitation tied to indoor commercial sex.
Police said the enforcement phase unfolded across several dates, with search warrants executed at different locations as detectives gathered evidence. On Thursday, Jan. 21, 2026, police said they executed a search warrant at Tui-Na Spa. Detectives said they determined Nan was offering sexual acts in exchange for money during massage appointments and then visiting local casinos with the proceeds. During that search, police said, detectives made contact with a potential human trafficking victim. Nan was taken into custody that day and charged with one felony count of conducting a transaction involving proceeds of criminal activity and one felony count of promoting prostitution in the second degree, police said. She also faced misdemeanor counts of practicing as a massage technician without certification and criminal nuisance, according to the department.
Nan was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court 11 and was committed to the Delores J. Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution after failing to post $10,200 in secured bail, police said. Authorities said the investigation continued with a second warrant served on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, at Angel Magic Therapy in Wilmington. Detectives identified Juli Cha, 63, of Laurel, Delaware, as the owner and operator of that business, police said. During that search, detectives made contact with potential human trafficking victims who reported they had not been compensated for working at the spa, authorities said. The allegation of unpaid work later appeared in the charges filed in the case.
A third phase followed later in February, according to police. On Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, investigators said Cha was observed at Panda Spa in Newark and was taken into custody during a vehicle stop. A search warrant was executed at Panda Spa the same day, police said, and detectives found Meilan Lanno, 63, also known as Meilan Xu, of Newark. Police said they had established that clients at Panda Therapy Massage were offered sexual acts in exchange for money by Lanno, who investigators described as the owner and operator of that business. That day, police said, Lanno, Cha and Johnson were taken into custody and transported to police headquarters.
Authorities said they seized about $13,988 during the investigation from the businesses and the individuals involved. The amount was described by police as proceeds tied to the suspected scheme. Johnson was charged with one felony count of conducting a transaction involving proceeds of criminal activity and one felony count of conspiracy in the second degree, along with two traffic violations tied to the vehicle stop, police said. He was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court 11 and released after posting $12,100 in cash bail, according to the department.
Lanno was charged with one felony count of promoting prostitution in the second degree and one misdemeanor count of criminal nuisance, police said. She was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court 11 and released after posting $5,100 in cash bail, according to police. Cha was charged with one felony count of promoting prostitution in the second degree, two misdemeanor counts of wage theft under $1,500 and one misdemeanor count of criminal nuisance, authorities said. Police said she was released after posting $7,100 in secured bail and $5,100 in cash bail.
Investigators said the case also included coordination outside the police department. As a result of the investigation, police said the Delaware Division of Professional Regulation was notified regarding the incident involving the businesses. The division oversees licensing and related professional rules in the state, including areas connected to massage and personal services. Police did not say Tuesday whether the spas had active licenses, whether any licenses were suspended as part of the case, or whether additional administrative actions were already underway.
Police also did not release details Tuesday about how many women were contacted during the searches, where they are now, or whether any were moved between businesses. Authorities said the women were referred to the New Castle County Police Department’s Victim Services Unit, which provides support and resources to people affected by such cases. Investigators said their work began with a tip in 2025 alleging illegal sex acts and potential human trafficking. Detectives with the drug and human trafficking investigations team then monitored the businesses and concluded that clients were being offered sexual acts in exchange for money, police said.
For neighbors and workers nearby, the raids placed a bright spotlight on businesses that often blend into busy shopping corridors. The locations named by police sit near major roads used daily by commuters in northern New Castle County, including routes that connect suburban neighborhoods with Wilmington and the Newark area. Police have not said whether any customers besides Johnson are under investigation, how many clients investigators identified, or whether additional arrests are expected. Authorities also have not released court filings describing the full evidence they intend to present, such as surveillance records, financial documents or statements from victims and witnesses.
Still, detectives and county officials framed the operation as part of a broader effort to target traffickers and financial activity behind exploitation. Chambers said investigators believed some people were brought into the country to be exploited, and he emphasized the department’s focus on identifying victims and disrupting how the suspected businesses operated. In the public statements released Tuesday, police described a trail of cash moving from spa appointments to casinos and then to bank deposits. Authorities said they are considering additional steps tied to the businesses themselves, including potential moves by state authorities that could affect whether the spas can continue operating while the criminal cases proceed.
As of Tuesday night, four defendants had been charged and processed through Justice of the Peace Court 11, with Nan held after failing to post bail and the other three released after posting bail, police said. Investigators said the case remains active, with victim services continuing and regulators notified. The next milestones are expected to come through court scheduling and any administrative action affecting the businesses.
Author note: Last updated March 3, 2026.