A massage parlor in Methuen was shut down and its manager was arrested after police found evidence of human trafficking in the building, officials said.
Suping Zhu, 38, of Flushing, N.Y., was arrested Friday on charges of human trafficking and profiting off of prostitution, Methuen Police Chief Scott McNamara said in a press release. Zhu is scheduled to be arraigned Monday on three charges, including one for managing a brothel or place of prostitution, Monday.
Zhu was the manager of Beauty Garden Spa, a massage parlor on Wallace Street. Methuen police started a “lengthy investigation” into the business after receiving complaints from residents, McNamara said.
After conducting surveillance and undercover operations, police obtained a search warrant for the spa on Sept. 4, officials said. During the search, they found living quarters for two women in the basement.
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Officials forced the business to close because the women were living in the commercial building unlawfully. The spa has remained closed since police served the search warrant.
“Police subsequently located numerous computers, phones and business records that were used in their ongoing investigation, and interviewed two women who were working in the spa,” McNamara‘s statement reads.
McNamara said the operation was the first in an “aggressive campaign to eradicate human trafficking and sexual servitude in Methuen.”
“To the ‘johns’ fueling this despicable trade, know this: you are not invisible, and we are targeting you next with the full might of the law,” he added.
Methuen Mayor D.J Beauregard said the city has “zero tolerance for these terrible crimes.”
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“From a policy standpoint, I am declaring war on human trafficking in the City of Methuen,” he said in a statement.
Emily Spatz can be reached at emily.spatz@globe.com. Follow her on X @emilymspatz.