In Frisco, two hotels were used for a covert operation by the Department of Homeland Security. According to CBS News, undercover officers ran ads that merged with countless other ads found online. Men willing to pay for sex responded to the ads, arriving at hotels in Frisco and Southlake, where they were met by waiting police officers.
“We had a high school teacher who is also a football coach, we had a youth pastor,” said John Perez of Homeland Security Investigations. “We had a volunteer firefighter, director of operations for one of the largest medical systems here in the metroplex. We also had a semi-professional hockey player.”
Perez added that this special operation proves that human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation is ubiquitous. He said people have a “misunderstanding” that sex trafficking only occurs in certain parts of Dallas. However, Pérez said, “It’s not really like that. It’s all over the Metroplex.”
The suspects have not been released by federal authorities.
Anyone who is or knows a potential victim in this or any other case of sex trafficking or human trafficking, or has any information about this or any other investigation, may contact the Homeland Security Investigations Division toll-free for guidance on telephone 1-866-347-2423. .
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