Police raided five Newburgh massage parlors they say are illegal, shut down two of the buildings for code violations, and placed eight women in custody Friday.
Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler says this may just be scratching the surface.
"We have to have a concern for those women, and sometimes men, who are being forced into prostitution and servitude," he said.
Hoovler said that happens more often in the Hudson Valley than you might think -- and because of that, he said, a lot of leg work goes into every bust like this.
"They are time-intensive cases," Hoovler said. "They take a lot of cooperation on the part of the victim, as well as being able to prove that there is some type of involuntary servitude."
He added that, because a lot of these men and women are brought to America illegally, sifting through the details can be challenging.
"You have communicatuion barriers," Hoovler said. "Most of the time, the people involved in this trade are not the most articulate. They can't speak English; they are afraid of coming forward because it's not where they're from. It's not their country."
Because of that, Hoovler said, it takes a team effort to get to the truth, including the FBI, Homeland Security and Orange County Social Services.
In the case of the Newburgh bust, Hoovler said they are looking into whether these women might have been part of a larger crime enterprise.