I.C.E. News Releases
HUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING
10/05/2016
ICE investigation results in 17 sex trafficking indictments in Minnesota
A sophisticated, widespread organization was dismantled; 12 are in custody
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A federal indictment unsealed late Tuesday charges 17 members of an international sex trafficking organization with transporting hundreds of female sex slaves from Thailand and trafficking them throughout the United States.
This indictment resulted from an investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with assistance from the following agencies: Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service, St. Paul (Minnesota) Police Department, Cook County (Illinois) Sheriff's Office, Anoka County (Minnesota) Sheriff's Office. This investigation was also supported by the International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center (IOC-2), and numerous other state and local law enforcement agencies across the country.
The charged defendants include 12 from Thailand and five U.S. citizens. Eleven defendants were arrested Tuesday at various locations in Minnesota, California, Illinois, Georgia and Hawaii. One charged defendant was previously arrested in Belgium. Four defendants remain at-large.
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-investigation-results-17-sex-trafficking-indictments-minnesota
