DALLAS — One hundred and thirty-four people have been arrested as part of a five-day, multiagency operation ran from Sept. 11 through Sept. 15 for the purchase of sex, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday.
The operation included partners from 15 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies across four cities in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex to address the growing demand for human trafficking and commercial sex in the area.
Among those arrested were, according to HSI:
- Two confirmed human traffickers
- A nurse at a "major medical network" in Dallas
- Four "individuals with access to the secure area of DFW airport"
- Four "noncitizens with final orders of removal"
- One pending hire with a major city police department
- One "prominent DFW city employee"
“Sex trafficking, and human trafficking as a whole, is one of the fastest growing criminal enterprises in the U.S. Human trafficking organizations often target minors and other marginalized populations because of their vulnerabilities,” said HSI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Lester R. Hayes Jr. “Potential customers who seek commercial sex are often as culpable as those who levy violence to keep their victims entrapped.”
Texas is the first state in the country to prosecute sexual solicitation as a felony, Homeland Security noted in its release.
The release from HSI did not name any of the 134 individuals arrested. WFAA has requested the list of those names.
The law enforcement agencies that participated in the operation included:
- HSI Dallas
- The Arlington Police Department
- The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office
- The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office
- The Dallas Police Department
- The Ellis County Sherriff’s Office
- The Grayson County Sheriff’s Department
- The Haltom City Police Department
- The Lake Worth Police Department
- The Midlothian Police Department
- The Richland Hills Police Department
- The Richardson Police Department
- The Tarrant County Human Trafficking Task Force
- The Texas National Guard and the Texas Department of Public Safety
HSI encourages the public to report suspected sex trafficking through its toll-free tip line at 866-347-2423. Investigators staff the tip line around the clock. From outside the United States and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.
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