A total of nine Methuen businesses have closed their doors amid the city’s crusade against human trafficking , with four of them “abruptly abandoned” this week before inspectors could pay a visit, officials said Thursday.

“When inspectors arrived at those four locations, they were ghost towns with no sign of activity of any kind,” Mayor D.J. Beauregard said at a news conference . “The message we have sent in declaring war on human trafficking is clear: Methuen is not a safe harbor for these criminal enterprises.”

The four businesses that closed on their own did so “just prior to the arrival of city inspectors,” added Police Chief Scott McNamara. “Now, is that a coincidence? I’ll let you be the judge.”

Neither he nor Beauregard named the four business that closed independently. The c

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