http://m.nwfdailynews.com/article/20151030/NEWS/151039918
PANAMA CITY BEACH — A federal grand jury has indicted nine people, all in the United States illegally, in connection with a human trafficking ring being primarily operated out of Panama City Beach but reaching several Southern states, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Friday.
The nine defendants charged in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida were arrested Thursday as part of “Operation Safe Haven” led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Authorities said they identified a loose organization that coordinated the trafficking of Hispanic women in Southern states for the purpose of prostitution.
The men and women arrested in northern Florida, originating from Mexico and Honduras, are facing a total of 32 counts associated with the case that began with a Panama City Beach kidnapping of a witness in a separate sex trafficking case, officials reported.
Several other people accused of being involved in sex trafficking cases also havebeen arrested in other states.
Specifically, prosecutors allege that homes at 604 Lantana St. in Panama City Beach and 1406 N. 48th Ave. in Pensacola were used as hubs for females — also referred to as “meat” by the defendants in the indictment — to be housed and then circulated throughout other states, officials wrote in a news release.
The indictment alleges that, between July 2014 and August 2015, the defendants engaged in a conspiracy to transport, harbor and market female illegal aliens for prostitution in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Afterward, the defendants wired portions of the prostitution proceeds to their countries of origin, Mexico and Honduras, officials said.
In addition to the conspiracy, the defendants alsoare charged with: 13 counts of enticing individuals to travel in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution; four counts of money laundering; seven counts of transporting individuals in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution; six counts of harboring an alien for the purpose of prostitution; and illegal entry by a deported alien, officials reported.
As part of this investigation, federal agents executed six search warrants Thursday — two in Pensacola, one in Santa Rosa Beach, one in Panama City Beach, one in Montgomery, Ala., and one in Laurel, Miss. Federal authorities also arrested 29 people in Macon, Ga., and rescued 15 potential victims in raids on brothels and homes. Officials expect additional arrests to follow.
PANAMA CITY BEACH — A federal grand jury has indicted nine people, all in the United States illegally, in connection with a human trafficking ring being primarily operated out of Panama City Beach but reaching several Southern states, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Friday.
The nine defendants charged in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida were arrested Thursday as part of “Operation Safe Haven” led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Authorities said they identified a loose organization that coordinated the trafficking of Hispanic women in Southern states for the purpose of prostitution.
The men and women arrested in northern Florida, originating from Mexico and Honduras, are facing a total of 32 counts associated with the case that began with a Panama City Beach kidnapping of a witness in a separate sex trafficking case, officials reported.
Several other people accused of being involved in sex trafficking cases also havebeen arrested in other states.
Specifically, prosecutors allege that homes at 604 Lantana St. in Panama City Beach and 1406 N. 48th Ave. in Pensacola were used as hubs for females — also referred to as “meat” by the defendants in the indictment — to be housed and then circulated throughout other states, officials wrote in a news release.
The indictment alleges that, between July 2014 and August 2015, the defendants engaged in a conspiracy to transport, harbor and market female illegal aliens for prostitution in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Afterward, the defendants wired portions of the prostitution proceeds to their countries of origin, Mexico and Honduras, officials said.
In addition to the conspiracy, the defendants alsoare charged with: 13 counts of enticing individuals to travel in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution; four counts of money laundering; seven counts of transporting individuals in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution; six counts of harboring an alien for the purpose of prostitution; and illegal entry by a deported alien, officials reported.
As part of this investigation, federal agents executed six search warrants Thursday — two in Pensacola, one in Santa Rosa Beach, one in Panama City Beach, one in Montgomery, Ala., and one in Laurel, Miss. Federal authorities also arrested 29 people in Macon, Ga., and rescued 15 potential victims in raids on brothels and homes. Officials expect additional arrests to follow.