Trafficking and Gangs

Hi everyone –today I wanted to highlight the hhuman trafficking activity of gang members and their investigation, sentencing and convictions of gang members contained in this report. In the past, we have had questions about how and whether gangs are involved with trafficking. Here's more proof positive.

DHS Open Source Enterprise

Daily Human Trafficking and Smuggling Report

25 August 2011

NATIONAL:

• Martinez Remains At Large. Man Sentenced For Importing Girls For Prostitution [Texas]: A South Texas man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for smuggling teenage illegal immigrant girls to work as prostitutes. U.S. Attorney Jose Angel Moreno said in a statement that 32-year-old Juan Antonio Garcia-Garay of Rio Grande City was sentenced Wednesday for importing illegal immigrants for prostitution, conspiracy to harbor and harboring illegal immigrants. Also sentenced were two co-defendants. Twenty-six-year-old Juan Ignacio Chavarria-Ontiveros of Mexico got seven years in prison. And 38-year-old Antonio Martinez Jr. of Rio Grande City got seven years and three months. Chavaria-Ontiveros and Martinez had been convicted of conspiracy to harbor illegal immigrants and harboring illegal immigrants. Moreno says the investigation found three girls — 13, 15 and 18 — who had been harbored at two apartments and a house in Rio Grande City. [HSEC-3.10; Date: 24 August 2011; Source: http://www.chron.com/news/article/Man-sentenced-for-importing-girls-for-prostitution-2139911.php]

• [Update] MS-13 Member's Child Prostitute Ring Serviced Clients In Fairfax [Virginia]: A Fairfax County man pled guilty Monday to sex trafficking teenage runaways as part of his juvenile prostitution business. His victims serviced clients all over Northern Virginia, Washington D.C. and Maryland, notably in Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Falls Church and Woodbridge. Alonso Bruno Cornejo, aka "Casper," 22, a Peruvian-born U.S. citizen and self-proclaimed member of MS-13, admitted that he ran a prostitution ring of juvenile girls. He said he started the ring in August 2009. Cornejo pled guilty to one count of sex trafficking of children. He faces 10 years to life in prison. … Much of the evidence against Cornejo came from three other MS-13 members who alleged that they saw Cornejo prostitute juveniles and promote his prostitution ring to clients, according to an affidavit filed by the FBI in April. "[A witness] stated that Cornejo set up approximately six-to-seven prostitution appointments a day and generally profited $400-500 on weekdays and $800-900 during a weekend day." [HSEC-3.10; Date: 23 August 2011; Source: http://fallschurch.patch.com/articles/fbi-ms-13-members-child-prostitute-ring-serviced-clients-in-fairfax-3]

• [Update] Police Use Wiretaps To Crack Human Trafficking By Street Gangs [Illinois]: Prosecutors and police on Wednesday announced charges against Chicago gang members in a unique human trafficking investigation. As CBS 2′s Mike Puccinelli reports, for the first time in the state, law enforcement officials used wiretaps approved by a judge to gather evidence of human trafficking. The Cook County State's Attorney's office said that "Operation Little Girl Lost" utilized the new Illinois Safe Children's Act to arrest and charge gang members for forcing young women and girls into prostitution.… The eight men and one woman charged in the case have been accused of forcing children – some as young as 12 – to have sex for money. Police said that, in some cases, the crimes were actually heard by investigators listening into wiretapped phone conversations. [HSEC-3.10; Date: 24 August 2011; Source: http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/08/24/police-use-wiretaps-to-crack-human-trafficking-by-street-gansg/]

INTERNATIONAL:

• Three Arrested In Suspected Father-Operated Prostitution [Canada]: Three Penticton men have been arrested and charged for allegedly receiving sexual services from a young woman whose 46-year-old father

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operated as her pimp. Because of a court gag order the names of all three arrested men, aged 34. 63 and 67, and the girl's father have been withheld from publicity. Penticton cops began their investigation into the forced prostitution allegations in May. The father was arrested on July 22 and charged with numerous sexual offenses including assault, interference, exploitation, breach of parental trust by forcing his daughter into prostitution and living off the earnings of prostitution. He remains in custody and will appear in court for a bail hearing in September. The three men were arrested between July 22 and August 12. They have since been released pending their summons to court on September 7 and October 12 and they have been restricted from all contact with persons under the age of 16. [HSEC-3.10; Date: 24 August 2011; Source:

http://www.vancouverite.com/2011/08/25/three-arrested-in-suspected-father-operated-prostitution/]

• Six Suspected Victims Of Human Trafficking Have Been Rescued [Ireland]: Three men and a woman were arrested in Belfast today as part of the planned Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) operation against organized crime and the vice trade. All the women rescued by detectives are from Eastern Europe and were allegedly being forced into prostitution.… Two of them, both aged in their 20s, were rescued today from an apartment block in the King Street area and a property in College Park North. Police said the other four women had been rescued over the past number of weeks as part of a three-month PSNI investigation. Details of those rescues have only now been made public. Of the four suspects detained, two men – aged 29 and 22 – were arrested in the King Street apartments while a 24-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman were taken into custody on Cavendish Street, off the Falls Road in west Belfast. [HSEC-3.10; Date: 24 August 2011; Source: http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/six-trafficking-victims-rescued-in-belfast-517729.html]

• Search For Human Trafficking Victims Continues With Arrest Of Suspect [Bolivia]: International government officials and the Minneapolis-based Institute for Trafficked, Exploited & Missing Persons (ITEMP) continue their search for information about a suspected human trafficker arrested and currently awaiting formal charges in Bolivia. José Ignacio Llopis Miró, 45, was arrested by INTERPOL agents June 17 at a café in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, after a nearly three-year manhunt. He is suspected in the disappearance of two women in Bolivia. He is also wanted in Uruguay, Spain, Guatemala, Argentina, and Australia on fraud, theft, and human trafficking-related charges. Furthermore, he is under investigation in Guatemala in connection with a homicide. Spanish-born Miró allegedly operated under nearly a dozen aliases in 17 countries. [HSEC-3.10; Date: 25 August 2011; Source: http://www.pr-inside.com/search-for-human-trafficking-victims-continues-r2779583.htm]

• Human Smuggling Try Foiled [Malaysia]: Seven waitresses who fell prey to a human trafficking ring sending their victims to Malaysia were rescued by agents of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group during an operation in Palawan that also resulted in the arrest of two suspects. CIDG chief Director Samuel D. Pagdilao Jr. identified the victim as Joanne Angelique, 21, and Arlen Encillo, 23, both residents of Dasmarinas, Cavite, and Anndrine Lacap, 26; Jenalyn Espinosa, 19; Jessica Espinosa, 21; Daneth Dayrit, 19; and Aloha Salutin, 24; all from Angeles City, Pampanga., They were rescued hours before they were scheduled to board a boat that would bring them to Malaysia. … An investigation showed that the victims of human trafficking were to sail from Brgy. Buliluyan to Labuan, Malaysia where they were to work as waitresses at the Peftok Bar owned by a friend of Tompong identified as Lorena Manahan. [HSEC-3.10; Date: 23 August 2011; http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php/news/national/11872-human-smuggling-try-foiled]

• Kidnapped Child Rescued From Begging [Thailand]: Twenty one days after being kidnapped and forced to beg, a three year old girl was reunited with her parents yesterday thanks to a pair of good Samaritans. Inthong Phanpraset and husband Wara, said they spotted Pompam accompanied by a 30-year-old woman begging at a food shop near Muang district office in Chon Buri and asked the woman for the child's birth certificate. Inthong said the woman excused herself to confer with a man who claimed to be the child's father, before they fled. The child told police that her kidnappers pinched and beat her up. The child's real parents, Wiset Samang and Apphinya Sumaphan, who live in Samut Prakarn, will present the rescuers a cheque for Bt50,000 at a ceremony organised by the Democrat Party. The date for the event will be announced later. [HSEC-3.10; Date: 24 August 2011; Source: http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20110825-296164.html]