Methuen officials have shut down three more spas accused of operating as fronts for human trafficking , bringing the total number of shuttered establishments to five in the city’s latest crackdown.

The city’s Department of Health, Human Services, and Inspections on Tuesday issued cease-and-desist orders to Oriental Spa, located at 119 Swan St., and Yellow Lilly Day Spa and Lavender Spa, both on Baldwin Street.

All three were ordered closed after inspectors discovered “unlicensed activity, evidence of unlawful habitation within the commercial spaces, and multiple code violations including unpermitted construction, blocked egress, and unsanitary conditions,” Methuen officials said in a news release. The three spas have also been referred to the Methuen Police Department for criminal inve

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