AST Oct/Nov Digital Magazine 8 | Page 37

Volume 8 17 Indicted for Human Trafficking, Exploiting Hundreds of Thai Women for Comm Sex in US Oct/Nov 2016 Edition The announcement was made by Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch; U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger of the District of Minnesota; Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division; Special Agent in Charge Alex Khu of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) St. Paul Division and Special Agent in Charge Shea Jones of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) St. Paul Field Office. Sex Trafficking Organization Engaged in Visa Fraud and Debt Scheme to Recruit Victims into the United States for Prostitution An indictment unsealed on Oct. 4 in St. Paul, Minnesota, charges 17 members of an international sex trafficking organization with transporting hundreds of women from Thailand and profiting from advertising them for commercial sex throughout the United States. The charged defendants include 12 Thai nationals and five U.S. nationals. Eight of the 17 charged defendants were arrested yesterday at various locations in Minnesota, California, Illinois, Georgia and Hawaii. One charged defendant was previously arrested in Belgium and four defendants remains at large. (Courtesy of WorldNewsNow via Paparazzi News and YouTube) Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch “Human trafficking is a degrading crime that undermines our nation’s most basic promises of liberty and security,” said Attorney General Lynch. “This case demonstrates the Justice Department’s determination to hold traffickers accountable and to help the survivors of this appalling practice reclaim their freedom and dignity. As part of our nationally recognized Anti-Trafficking Coordination Team Initiative, the District of Minnesota is playing a crucial role in those vital efforts, and I want to commend all of the team members whose cooperation led to today’s action.” “The 17 people charged in this indictment ran a highly sophisticated sex trafficking scheme,” said U.S. Attorney Luger. “They promised women in Thailand a chance at the American dream, but instead exploited them, coerced them and forced them to live a nightmare.” “In short, the victims lived like modern day sex slaves. Today’s indictment is our ninth sex traffick37