Authorities say they have arrested two people in connection with what they call an "extensive" human trafficking enterprise that forced women into prostitution and made them live in squalor.
WILMINGTON, Mass. (AP) — Authorities say they have arrested two people in connection with what they call an "extensive" human trafficking enterprise that forced women into prostitution and made them live in squalor.
Police say 32-year-old Xiu J. Chen of Medford, and 57-year-old Ronald Keplin of Woburn were arrested Monday and charged with various offenses.
Authorities say the pair ran their prostitution business out of massage parlors and spas in Bedford, Billerica, Medford, Reading, Wilmington and Woburn.
They are scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday. It wasn't clear if they had lawyers.
Attorney General Martha Coakley says the suspects recruited women from along the East Coast and employed them in their businesses, requiring them to work seven days a week.
Coakley says they were forced to live in crowded apartments and sleep on mattresses on the floor.