The New Jersey State Police arrested eight suspects who allegedly operated a "horrific" human trafficking ring in which victims were "lured to this country under the promise of a better life.”
Eight people between 28 and 55 years old were arrested and face charges ranging from third-degree maintaining a house of prostitution to first-degree human trafficking and conspiracy.
Detectives led a four-month-long investigation where they discovered that the suspects smuggled female victims and forced them into prostitution, state police said in a news release.
Through their investigation, detectives identified a 43-year-old suspect as the ringleader of the human trafficking network that operated out of a number of residences in Trenton.
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Acting Attorney General Matthew Platkin commented on the investigation saying, “The trafficking of human beings is horrific, particularly when it involves the sexual exploitation of vulnerable women and girls lured to this country under the promise of a better life.”
Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, said that the investigation shows the department’s dedication to bringing criminals to justice to dismantling “operations that create life-long, damage to victims."
The search began Friday, January 21. State Police Missing Persons and Human Trafficking unit detectives gained information of a minor being trafficked around a Hudson Street property in Trenton.
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Afterward, on the same day, those detectives – along with officials from the state police T.E.A.M.S. Unit, K-9 Unit, Crime Suppression Central Unit, Trenton Police Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement – performed a search with warrant at the Hudson Street property. Those involved in the search found two female victims and arrested two suspects, 39 and 55 years old, both Trenton residents.
One of the victims revealed that she was smuggled from Mexico to Texas under the notion she would be working at a restaurant. However, she was forced into a human sex trafficking operation, eventually being trafficked into New Jersey as a prostitute before being moved to Trenton, the state police said.
On Wednesday, May 11, detectives and other officials executed search warrants for multiple residences in Trenton. Nine more female victims were located, and evidence was found that described a false pretense that they would be smuggled into the United States and be provided actual employment.
Two suspects remain on the loose, while the others are being housed at the Mercer County Jail pending detention hearings, police said.
Anyone who is a victim of human trafficking or knows a victim is encouraged to call the New Jersey State Police at 855-END-NJ-HT. Every tip remains anonymous.
This case is being processed by the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice. All victims rescued received assistance, state police said.
