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