The motor city is best known for its cars and the prestigious North American International Auto show, a speciality car exhibit that draws people in from all over the world once a year. It really is something that can’t be missed, as big auto giants like GM, Chrysler and Ford roll out all their latest cars.
The January show runs from the 8th to the 22nd of the month. But this year there was something more than just automobiles that caught people by surprise.
An underground police operation discovered a human trafficking ring being run in conjunction with the massive event.
According to a new report, 12-15 police agencies were working during the international show to catch the illegal action.
Michael Glennon, supervisory special agent for the FBI told Channel 4 Detroit that, “When you’re drawing in a large number of people, and more specifically, male clientele, they’re traveling away from their families” and “They tend to flock to situations such as that.” And it is made accessible through the hundreds of advertisements shared with the public at events like this one.
The Violent Crimes Against Children task force and coordinator of the human trafficking division agent explained that “The network is becoming more and more complex” because secret signs and even the ability to figure out undercover cop cars has become easy for pimps and abusers to do.
The sting operation lasted three days and according to Glennon, his team “identified four to five pimps or exploiters and made 22 arrests during the period.”
Also “We identified approximately 14-15 potential adult victims of human trafficking. We were able to recover two children involved in sex trafficking.”
As pointed out by Glennon, women and children are the most vulnerable to becoming victim’s of human trafficking.
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It is estimated by Equality Now, a human rights agency, that over 20 million lives across the world have been impacted by sexual exploitation and modern day slavery.
Faithwire previously reported that sporting events like the Olympics and the Super Bowl have become perfect places for pimps to sell young women’s services to tourists who are looking.
The 150 billion dollar industry has broken up thousands of families and caused many women and children to give up on their life too early.
To help the victim’s of sexual exploitation and modern day sex trafficking lift them up in prayer and consider donating to organization’s like Thorn, a non-profit that uses technology to find abusers all over the world.
(H/T Channel 4 Detroit)
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