New Jersey has at least 373 illicit massage parlors that possibly operate as fronts for sex and other forms of human trafficking, according to a new report. And these traffickers likely engage in prostitution and other illegal activities at the expense of human suffering.

The conclusion was made by Polaris, a non-profit group based in Washington, D.C. that tracked what it considers "modern-day slavery" in a 100-page report on sex and labor trafficking in illicit massage businesses. The report did not directly identify the New Jersey massage parlors that possibly engage in "commercial sex" and other illegal activities, saying that information is part of a larger criminal investigation conducted by federal law enforcement authorities.

But the report did address where most of them operate as part of a criminal enterprise that generates approximately $2.5 billion a year across America. According to Polaris research, counties in New Jersey with the highest number of illicit massage businesses that possibly engage in sex and labor trafficking were: Middlesex, Somerset and Bergen.

Middlesex County had the highest number, with the report noting that it's "one the most populous counties in the state, which matches nationwide trends." "Currently, the Polaris Disruption Strategies Team is focusing on illicit massage businesses, a unique form of trafficking that operates in plain sight in communities across the country," Rochelle Keyhan, director of "disruption strategies" at Polaris, wrote in the report she shared with Patch.

"Our mission is close to my heart. As a prosecutor for six years, I saw many potential trafficking victims arrested for prostitution in IMBs," Keyhan said. "In some cases, they were deported before I even had the chance to assess whether they might be trafficking victims."

Polaris says at least 9,000 illicit massage parlors exist in the United States, and "both sex and labor trafficking can happen in illicit massage businesses," according to the report.

Keyhan told Patch that many of the women who engage in sex and labor trafficking come from oppression in other countries, and they're looking for any opportunity to make money for their families who are living in poverty. "They're looking for other opportunities, any opportunity to make any money that is better than over there (in other countries)," she said.