Am I right to be suspicious!? Something not right going on

[coffeewithmilk]

I'm renting an apartment with my husband. Our sitting room window overlooks a tanning salon which is also an Internet cafe.
I have become almost obsessed with seeing who is going in and out - I feel something dodgey is going on in there! Constant older men with flashy cars parking outside, young lads in tracksuits going in and out - none of them coming out more tanned than when they went in.
It has been nice over lockdown because there hasn't been anyone around - but now it's open again and it is manic busy

Surely that many people aren't using tanning beds?!

I also noticed that after closing in the evenings, they sometimes leave some of their tanning beds running (I can see the lights through the window)

If it is the dealings of something not right, like drugs or sex work - should I tell someone about it?

My husband thinks I'm over reacting and thinks I should just turn a blind eye as we are only renting and won't be here for too much longer

What would you do?

In the nicest way, you sound a bit lockdown-crazy. People don't stop buying drugs during lockdown. It literally would not have stopped. Also, people very, very, very rarely would sell drugs out a commercial premises. There's nothing to stop the police wandering in by chance when they're off duty and want a tanning session.

@UltimateWednesday they don’t turn up in person but they have to have a legitimate amount of traffic coming through the doors to account for the cash that’s being laundered.

Mind your own business

I love a good ‘mind your own business’ reply

I mean let’s just turn a blind eye to sex tragic workers or underage girls, or drug deals enticing our children.

As long as it’s not your kids right?

OP you may be right. Nothing wrong with a quick phone call.

Not to dismiss your concerns, OP, but this sounds like the perfect opening to a crime drama. Write it, write it! Before you move.

Older men in flashy cars don’t go to pick up their own drugs. Tanning salons are notorious for being frontage for sex work. Likely to be trafficked women there. Report it, it may save lives.

It all sounds very intriguing! As long as no one is bothering you, why worry about it? It passes time :-).

Might be worth rerouting to the police anyway. I don’t care about cannabis, but sex trafficking is terrible and needs to be dealt with, not enough people report modern day slavery. If there is a slim chance you think it’s sex trafficking, then do report it, just in case. Best case scenario if it’s just tanning or Internet cafe then the police visit, find nothing is wrong and leave. But If someone is being abused you could save their lives.

Stereotypes exist for a reason though, like that most tanning salons would attract both men and women, because they generally do... I love the thought that people are envisioning these people seeking out a male friendly tanning studio to feel more comfortable 😁. OP, there probably is a dodgy business going on and chances are it does hurt someone. Up to you if you report your suspicions, as you don't have anything concrete.

How has a tanning salon been 'manic busy' today when they're not allowed to open yet?

Are you in the UK?

I'm going to guess you're mistaken and they've opened for men's haircuts.

That would make more sense.

I think its brothel

@WorraLiberty I'm in Dublin, so it has been open since the 29th. There was occasionally the odd person coming and going during lockdown

@coffeewithmilk

The scenario that I have in my head is that drugs are being sold on the premises, extra money is being run through the books and they are leaving the sunbeds on to run up the electricity costs to make it look like they are busier than they are. It's very easy to see a pattern of people going in and out

But I could be completely wrong.

I think I'll just close my blinds and not make assumptions again. I didn't mean to upset anyone by making assumptions about the clientele using tanning salons. I think I'll leave it at that

Don't take this the wrong way flower, but have you considered a hobby? Maybe a creative writing course?

There's no harm in reporting it, it does sound dodgy, and you've obviously been watching them for a while so you would know.

Yes, lots of men do use tanning beds, but if 99% of people going into a tanning salon are men then that does seem suspicious. If it was legitimate then there would be at least some women going there too. I'd guess most tanning customers would be repeat visitors to keep their tans topped up, so they would be more tanned than the average person, which the OP says they are not.

Report it. It could be a front for sex trafficking and if the police don't know about it they can't help the women involved.

It's a bit of a stretch from tanning to drug dealing to sex trafficking.
Get your husband to call in and ask what is on the special menu. He will either be missing for half an hour or an hour or be flung out onto the street but at least you'll know. Or you could go and say you're looking for a job.

Come back and tell us what you find out.

Miss Marple is out - will I do?

Isn't cannabis growing usually picked up because of excessive heating/electricity use? Having sunbeds running would be a good cover :)

There’s probably a brothel out the back. My dh works as a civil engineer on the roads, he and his gang often work for days/weeks at a time outside various house and buildings, they’ve seen many a strange thing go on and often in the most inconspicuous of places.

Surely if it was a knocking shop, you’d see young (and not so young!) women coming and going too, on a shift rota basis, unless the premises is big enough to house them permanently too.

If it was a Canabis farm they’d black out the windows and you’d smell it walking by.

Why not pop in for a sunbed yourself, see what theyre up to?

I wouldn't bother reporting to the police; they never do anything about it. A man in our town is openly a drug dealer and it's common knowledge but despite people reporting him to the police he gets away with it and lives in a massive house with sports cars etc all funded by drugs.

I expect its money laundering. You could call the police

No harm in reporting it, if it is a brothel there would be an increased risk of covid you might end up with a local lockdown

Constant older men with flashy cars parking outside
How you long do they stay?

@MotherofTerriers

I expect its money laundering. You could call the police

How would that work, I thought in money laundering you pretended to have customers as a reason for having money, unless they aren't charging for the tans I can't work out what they would be doing, probably obvious but I don't get it

Love the thought of you by the window with a little card indicating the degree of tan

Probably money laundering, there's a few businesses in my town that I know 100% are money laundering fronts. I know dodgy people. I wouldn't bother reporting it, they'll have their tracks covered.

Or they could be a perfectly legitimate business, who knows!