22 arrested in Pennsylvania in connection to alleged human trafficking at massage parlors - USA TODAY

[Fernando Cervantes Jr.]

Twenty-two people were arrested in Pennsylvania in connection to a human trafficking operation tied to two massage businesses, officials said.

The District Attorney for Cumberland County, Pennsylvania Seán M. McCormack said in a press release Tuesday that the arrests were made across multiple operations over the last month. Officials also said that more arrests are expected in connection to this operation.

Called Closed2Trafficking, the operation seeks to “focus on illegal commercial sexual trafficking and exploitation of individuals," according to the press release. It was conducted with continuing operations called Impact Demand, which seeks to target the customers of the sex trade, officials said.

The attorney’s office said it had executed search warrants at two area massage parlors: GL Massage and Li’s Asian Massage, both located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Carlisle is located about 25 miles west of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Here's what to know about the arrests.

Warrants at massage parlors lead to arrests​

According to the release, arrests were made between October and early November. The first arrests were made in October, when six men were apprehended for what officials called “promoting prostitution.”

Then on Nov. 6, a person from Flushing, New York was arrested for prostitution during a warrant search at GL Massage. Other arrests were made at Li’s Spa as well, where two people from Flushing, New York and one woman from Newport, Pennsylvania were arrested and accused of prostitution.

And on Nov. 8, 13 men were arrested as part of another prostitution detail, according to the district attorney.

“Unfortunately, human trafficking exists here in Cumberland County and today’s operation is part of our ongoing effort to root out human trafficking and to send a message that Cumberland County is not the place to set up one of these operations,” McCormack said in the release. "Cumberland County is 'Closed to Human Trafficking.'"

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.