A Chinese citizen arrested in February in an alleged sex trafficking investigation involving massage parlors in Rockland, Randolph and Fairfield now faces deportation to China.

Tian Tao, 54, who has been living in Gardiner, was arrested in the city on sex trafficking charges and was taken into custody by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Feb. 20 and remains in federal custody.

Tao, according to a news release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is a Chinese national and now faces removal to China due to the charges against him. He entered the United States legally in 2016 but violated the terms of his admission, according to Michael J. Krol, New England special agent in charge for ICE Homeland Security Investigations.

“Illicit massage parlors are notoriously difficult to investigate, but collaboration between our special agents and local police allowed us to bring a significant consequence to a person charged with a serious crime in our community,” Krol said in the release. “There is no place in New England for people who exploit and traffic vulnerable people.”

Tao was arrested by Rockland police detectives, with assistance from Gardiner police and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, according to a statement the Rockland Police Department posted to social media.

Sex trafficking is a Class D misdemeanor in Maine, although it can be elevated to a Class C felony if someone has prior convictions for certain sex trafficking or prostitution-related crimes.

Police began investigating a massage parlor called Asian Massage in Rockland after receiving information from another agency in Lincoln County “regarding their investigation into sexual acts that were being done in exchange for money,” the Rockland Police Department said in a Jan. 27 statement. The parlor had moved from Waldoboro, in Lincoln County, to Rockland.

Tao is believed to be the owner of Asian Massage, according to the Midcoast Villager news report, which cited a police affidavit filed in court.

The affidavit says Tao also operated Asian Massage businesses in Randolph and Fairfield, the Midcoast Villager reported.

In December, Rockland police executed a search warrant at Asian Massage in Rockland. That business has since closed.

The Rockland police investigation has led to 11 people being charged with engaging a person for prostitution. The offense is generally a Class E misdemeanor.

This case was investigated by ICE alongside the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office and the Rockland Police Department.