{"id":4678,"date":"2025-09-30T20:23:05","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T20:23:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thegloss.online\/?p=4678"},"modified":"2025-09-30T20:23:05","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T20:23:05","slug":"methuen-shuts-down-second-suspected-human-trafficking-front","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thegloss.online\/?p=4678","title":{"rendered":"Methuen shuts down second suspected human trafficking front"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<header class=\"m-article-header m-article-header--standard\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span id=\"article-header-primary-term\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCrime<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"m-article-header__sub-headline\">\u201cMethuen has zero tolerance for those who profit from human suffering in our city,\u201d Mayor D.J. Beauregard said.<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"a-photo m-article-header__photo \"><figcaption class=\"a-photo__caption\">\n\t<em> <\/em>\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"m-article-header__meta\">\n<div class=\"m-article-header__byline\">\n<p class=\"m-article-header__author\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBy Abby Patkin\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"m-article-header__date\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSeptember 30, 2025 | 12:25 PM\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/time><\/p>\n<p><span>2 minutes to read<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<p>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.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>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 <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/news.jgpr.net\/2025\/09\/29\/city-of-methuen-shuts-down-second-suspected-human-trafficking-operation-new-human-trafficking-task-force-announced\/\">news release<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"m-block t-amp__list-container m-article-list-container m-article-list-container--frame-border a-border-frame  a-list-header__headline--red m-article-list--alternative--default  m-article-list--floated\">\n<ul class=\"t-amp__list a-list--no-style m-article-list m-article-list--recirculation m-article-list--has-images \">\n<li class=\"m-article-list__item m-article-list__item--featured\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><h4 class=\"m-article-list__headline t-amp__list-headline \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"m-article-list__link a-link a-link--inline a-link--text-link a-link--text-link-dark\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMethuen spa manager arrested on human trafficking, prostitution charges\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>An inspector \u201cdiscovered that the site was being used as an unlicensed bodywork establishment,\u201d according to the release. \u201cEvidence 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eastern Bodywork Therapy\u2019s <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yelp.com\/biz\/eastern-bodywork-therapy-methuen\">Yelp page<\/a> indicates the business offered various types of massage. In Massachusetts, massage therapists and establishments are licensed through the state.<\/p>\n<p>Following the purported discovery Monday, Methuen\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Methuen officials searched another massage parlor \u2014 Beauty Garden Spa on Wallace Street \u2014 earlier this month and allegedly found living quarters for two women in the spa\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>Zhu was ordered held at the Essex County House of Correction in lieu of having posted $25,000 cash bail. In setting her bail,\u00a0 Judge Edward Karcasinas noted Zhu lives in Flushing, New York, has ties to China, and faces several years in state prison if convicted.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>An attorney appointed to represent Zhu for her arraignment declined to comment Tuesday. Zhu is due back in court Oct. 24.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In light of the two spa busts, Methuen Mayor D.J. Beauregard announced a new Human Trafficking Task Force to \u201croot out such establishments citywide by holding individual perpetrators and the landlords profiting from these illegitimate businesses accountable,\u201d according to the news release.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe 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,\u201d Beauregard explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He acknowledged the concerned neighbors and small business owners who reported the businesses, as well as the local officials who investigated them.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe must do more \u2014 in partnership with our federal and state law enforcement allies, alongside our neighbors here in the Merrimack Valley \u2014 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,\u201d Beauregard added. \u201cMethuen has zero tolerance for those who profit from human suffering in our city.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"o-author-single has-avatar\">\n<header class=\"m-author-card\">\n<div class=\"a-image a-image--square m-author-card__image\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.boston.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/cropped-Patkin-Headshot-66fea67b66dd2-scaled-1-66fea6a1c6f25.jpg\" alt=\"Profile image for Abby Patkin\"\/>\t<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<section class=\"author-info\">\n<div class=\"m-author__section\">\n<p>Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"m-block m-generic-cta&#10;&#9; m-generic-cta--post-content&#9; m-generic-cta--dark&#9; m-generic-cta--homepage&#9; m-generic-cta--email-signup&#9;&#9; m-generic-cta-block-style--default &#10;&#9;t-amp__generic-cta\">\n<div class=\"m-generic-cta__wrap\">\n<div class=\"m-generic-cta__content\">\n<h3 class=\"m-generic-cta__title\">Sign up for the Today newsletter<\/h3>\n<p class=\"m-generic-cta__subtitle\">Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><script>\n\t\t!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n\t\t{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n\t\tn.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n\t\tif(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n\t\tn.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n\t\tt.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n\t\ts.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n\t\t'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n\t\t\t\t\tconst onetrustStorageConsent = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem( 'consent_one_trust_bdc' ) );\n\t\t\tif ( ( onetrustStorageConsent !== null ) ) {\n\t\t\t\t\/* The above code is parsing the JSON data from the local storage and storing it in a variable.\n\t\t\t\t * Checking if the user has given consent for the cookie C0002.\n\t\t\t\t * If the user has given consent, the variable consent will be set to 'grant'.\n\t\t\t\t * If the user has not given consent,the variable consent will be set to 'revoke'.\n\t\t\t\t * Documentation https:\/\/developers.facebook.com\/docs\/meta-pixel\/implementation\/gdpr\n\t\t\t\t*\/\n\t\t\t\tif ( onetrustStorageConsent.C0002 !== true ) {\n\t\t\t\t\tfbq('consent', 'revoke');\n\t\t\t\t\tfbq('dataProcessingOptions', []);\n\t\t\t\t} else {\n\t\t\t\t\tfbq('consent', 'grant');\n\t\t\t\t\tfbq('dataProcessingOptions', ['LDU'], 0, 0);\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\tfbq('init', '989222871864976');\n\t\tfbq('track', 'PageView');\n\t<\/script><script type=\"module\">\n\t\t!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function()\n\t\t{n.callMethod? 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Beauregard said. By Abby Patkin September 30, 2025 | 12:25 PM 2 minutes to read Methuen officials shut down a second suspected human trafficking front Monday, less than a day after announcing a crackdown on a local massage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4679,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[595,994,821,1038,1039,825],"class_list":{"0":"post-4678","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-beauty","8":"tag-front","9":"tag-human","10":"tag-methuen","11":"tag-shuts","12":"tag-suspected","13":"tag-trafficking"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegloss.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegloss.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegloss.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegloss.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegloss.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thegloss.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4678\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegloss.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegloss.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegloss.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegloss.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}