Four raids in Macomb County as law enforcement busts suspected human trafficking operation

MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. – Two homes and two spas, all located in Macomb County, were raided by a law enforcement partnership investigating allegations of human trafficking in the area.

Six people were arrested shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday, May 29 after the sheriff's enforcement team executed search warrants at homes in Macomb and Shelby townships, as well as health centers in Shelby Township and Sterling Heights, the office said.

A neighbor's security camera captured law enforcement with shields and battering rams, marching on Gulliver Drive in Shelby Township.

“I came here and there must have been 25 cars, so it looked like a raid,” said Shelby Township resident Bill Anton. “The police were there, the sheriff’s department, the FBI, the border patrol.”

Several men and women were taken from a home in the Lakeview Manor subdivision, near 21 Mile and Schoenherr. In addition to the six people arrested, six other people were taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, according to a press release.

Anton lives across the street.

“I saw them handcuffing a lot of people,” he said. “They sat on the sidewalk for a while, talking to them, interviewing them.”

Neighbors said the house was purchased during the COVID-19 pandemic and they believed the owner was going to open a restaurant. They assumed that everyone they saw inside and outside probably worked there.

However, it turns out the house was one of the locations law enforcement is investigating for human trafficking.

“Unfortunately, it’s a horrible thing at any level,” Anton said.

The policing partnership included U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Sterling Heights Police Department and the Macomb County FBI. The sheriff's office oversaw the operation.

Search warrants were executed at the following locations:

• Homes in Macomb and Shelby Townships

• 25 Health Spa at 54798 Shelby Rd, Shelby Township

• Spa Healing Plus at 39573 Mound Rd, Sterling Heights

An investigation is still underway.