US arrests sex traffickers in over a dozen cities
American authorities have arrested over two dozen people in a crackdown on sex traffickers operating in at least 13 US cities.
The 29 detainees are accused of forcing Mexican and Central American women into prostitution in the southeastern part of the US after helping them cross into America, Fox News said, quoting officials.
Officials were also able to identify 15 possible victims.
The crackdown on the sex-trafficking of Latin American women, dubbed "Operation Safe Haven," took place after special agents of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) discovered a loosely organized network of people in the cities of Savannah and Moultrie, both in the state of Georgia, dedicated to the sex-trafficking of immigrants.
The group was supposedly in charge of coordinating border crossings for women from Mexico and Central America in order to subsequently deliver them to brothels in the southeastern United States, specifically in the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas.
A 2014 report said 80 percent of women and girls crossing into the US by way of Mexico are raped during their journey.
Another report called "Estimating the Size and Structure of the Underground Commercial Sex Economy in Eight Major US Cities" showed last year that the sex trade is alive and well in America despite bans.
For instance, Atlanta's sex trade was worth a whopping $290 million in 2007 alone while Miami's sex economy was worth $235 million, and Washington D.C.'s $103 million.
The study also found that the trade is not run by uneducated people. It is run by people who are struggling to find other opportunities.
Some 32 percent of people surveyed in the study had a family member who was involved in procuring sex or prostitution, the report found.
It said US police were among the major clients, citing people involved in the business.
Although the sex trade is illegal in America, it intersects with many “normal,” regulated businesses in the country, the study found.
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