Investigating nail salons as cover for sex and labor trafficking

Today our partner WGBH Radio begins an investigative series about the growing national and international criminal enterprise of human and sexual trafficking, and examines how nail salons in Massachusetts and Rhode Island are being used to hide and legitimize illegal activities. Women are being trafficked to work in salons during the day and then pulled into prostitution at night, and because a salon is a cash-based business, it is a perfect place to launder the money brought in through prostitution.

We speak with Phillip Martin, senior investigative reporter for WGBH, about the increase in human trafficking in New England and beyond. Martin’s reporting exposes where and how human trafficking crimes take place and why it is so difficult to prevent them.