The city of Methuen has ordered now five total spa businesses under suspicion of harboring human trafficking operations to close, Mayor D.J. Beauregard announced Tuesday.

“We are moving aggressively to identify and close these businesses, to crack down on the evildoers who profit from human suffering, and to hold landlords, traffickers, and johns accountable,” said Beauregard. “The demand created by johns is what fuels this evil criminal industry, and as Police Chief Scott McNamara indicated previously, we are targeting you next with the full might of the law.”

Methuen’s Department of Health, Human Services, and Inspections issued cease-and-desist letter to three establishments suspected of being front for trafficking Tuesday, bringing the total business closed in the bust to five. A cit

See Full Page