Methuen shuts down second suspected human trafficking front

Methuen officials shut down a second suspected human trafficking front Monday, less than a day after announcing a crackdown on a local massage parlor that allegedly served as a hub for prostitution. 

The second closure came after city inspectors responded to a complaint of unlicensed business activity at Eastern Bodywork Therapy, located at 17 Hampshire St., Methuen officials explained in a news release. 

An inspector “discovered that the site was being used as an unlicensed bodywork establishment,” according to the release. “Evidence of unlawful habitation and other materials consistent with criminal activity were found in plain view and immediately referred to the Methuen Police Department for further investigation.”

Eastern Bodywork Therapy’s Yelp page indicates the business offered various types of massage. In Massachusetts, massage therapists and establishments are licensed through the state.

Following the purported discovery Monday, Methuen’s Department of Health, Human Services, and Inspections issued a cease-and-desist order for the site. The city also said its investigation into Eastern Bodywork Therapy is ongoing, with additional details forthcoming. 

Methuen officials searched another massage parlor — Beauty Garden Spa on Wallace Street — earlier this month and allegedly found living quarters for two women in the spa’s basement. Beauty Garden Spa manager Suping Zhu, 38, pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of trafficking a person for sexual servitude, profiting off of prostitution, and keeping a house of ill fame.

Zhu was ordered held at the Essex County House of Correction in lieu of having posted $25,000 cash bail. In setting her bail,  Judge Edward Karcasinas noted Zhu lives in Flushing, New York, has ties to China, and faces several years in state prison if convicted. 

An attorney appointed to represent Zhu for her arraignment declined to comment Tuesday. Zhu is due back in court Oct. 24. 

In light of the two spa busts, Methuen Mayor D.J. Beauregard announced a new Human Trafficking Task Force to “root out such establishments citywide by holding individual perpetrators and the landlords profiting from these illegitimate businesses accountable,” according to the news release. 

“We will work together to identify traffickers, shutter illegal businesses that profit from this evil, and hold landlords accountable if they harbor and profit from such activities,” Beauregard explained. 

He acknowledged the concerned neighbors and small business owners who reported the businesses, as well as the local officials who investigated them. 

“We must do more — in partnership with our federal and state law enforcement allies, alongside our neighbors here in the Merrimack Valley — to unmask shell corporations that hide business owners, support survivor-centered law enforcement strategies, and close the loopholes in the commercial real estate industry that traffickers exploit,” Beauregard added. “Methuen has zero tolerance for those who profit from human suffering in our city.”

Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between.