A Concord spa is under investigation for human trafficking and sexual exploitation, as authorities intensify their crackdown on illicit massage parlors across New Hampshire.
On Wednesday, the Concord Police Department executed a criminal search warrant at Oriental Bodywork Spa, located at 288 North State Street.
The raid follows a months-long investigation that began in August, focusing on allegations of prostitution and human trafficking linked to the spa.
On the spa’s website, some of the services listed are four hands massage, table shower and body scrub, hot stone massage and many others.
The Attorney General’s Office, along with the New Hampshire Department of Labor, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Internal Revenue Service, is actively assisting the Concord Police Department in the ongoing investigation.
This is the latest move in a broad effort to shut down massage parlors suspected of serving as fronts for prostitution and trafficking.
According to the New Hampshire Department of Justice, at least 15 such businesses have been closed in communities including Derry, Londonderry, Hudson, Merrimack, Manchester, Dover, Salem, and Somersworth.
In Derry, six businesses exploiting women have been shut down as part of the enforcement efforts, authorities said.
The department said it has shut down nearly half of the illicit massage parlors it has identified across the state since launching a targeted enforcement campaign last November in collaboration with local and federal agencies.
Sruthi Gopalakrishnan can be reached at sgopalakrishnan@cmonitor.com
