The Southlake restaurant whose owners have been accused of accused of human trafficking, prostitution and other crimes has lost its liquor license.
Dragon House, located on Southlake Blvd. in Southlake, voluntarily canceled its liquor license Dec. 6 after agents from TABC’s Special Investigations Unit found evidence that the restaurant’s owners were using the business to hide illegal profits from an alleged human trafficking operation at the Jade/Hawaii Spa of Dallas. The business may continue to operate as a restaurant, though it may no longer sell or serve alcohol.
Both businesses were owned by Yong Bei Wang Murphy and Chung Shendelman. The Dallas Police Department arrested and charged the women with prostitution and promotion of organized criminal activity in October following a raid on the massage parlor. That operation resulted in the rescue of six suspected human trafficking victims who were interviewed and turned over to victim services organizations.
A follow-up investigation by TABC found that funds were being sent from the massage parlor to the restaurant, indicating that the restaurant was being used to hide money stemming from illegal activity. Money laundering and prostitution are often connected to organized criminal activity such as human trafficking.
“This case shows that human trafficking can infiltrate a TABC-licensed business, even when the crime itself isn’t taking place on the business premises,” TABC Executive Director Bentley Nettles said. “By taking action quickly and decisively, we show criminals that they can’t use a legitimate business to hide dirty money.”
A Dallas Police Department investigation in February of this year involving prostitution and possible human trafficking has led to search warrants that involve addresses in Southlake, Arlington, Grapevine, Irving, Carrollton as well as Dallas. Among those area searched was a popular Southlake restaurant, Dragon House.
In February, 2019, the Dallas Police Vice Unit began investigating prostitution and possible human trafficking at Jade Spa, an illicit massage business located at 2006 Market Center. Arrests were made in October.