Five human trafficking victims were recovered and 75 people were arrested in a month-long prostitution sting that recently ended, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office announced Monday.
A human trafficking and prostitution sting in The Woodlands area last month netted 75 arrests and the recovery of five trafficked individuals, one of which was a juvenile. Several non-governmental organizations were also involved in the operation. State Department.
Tim Cannon, the sting ran from Oct. Undercover agents, Cannon added, posed as sex workers and Johns, using the Internet to find individuals who were seeking sexual favors for money. Of the 75 arrests, Cannon said 32 were men, 11 of which were pimps. He said when he took office in , his department recognized different growing crime trends including human trafficking with a goal to address them aggressively.
Henderson said what has been traditionally known as prostitution has evolved into human trafficking with most of the sex workers being trafficked individuals. That, he said, has changed how investigators operate stings. One key aspect has been interviewing the sex workers after and arrest to determine who has forced them into prostitution. We also want to send a message that we are not going to put up with kind of activity not just in Montgomery County, but this entire region.
Special Agent Lt. Theo Williams with Federal Bureau of Investigation in Houston encouraged residents to be watchful of suspicious activity. We need more public participation to help us fight human trafficking not only in Montgomery County and around the county. Houston Police Lt. Angela Merritt said it was important to bring justice to the victims rescues during the sting.
