Police handcuffed 14 people who allegedly oversaw a human trafficking operation at San Diego Comic-Con, saving 10 victims, including a 16-year-old girl.
The three-day sting operation took place over the weekend with officers from the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force acting undercover as sex buyers to catch the traffickers.
“Unfortunately, sex traffickers take advantage of large-scale events like Comic-Con to exploit their victims and profit,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “These arrests send a clear message to would-be offenders that their criminal behavior will not be tolerated.
‘We are very proud of our office’s commitment to helping vulnerable Californians by offering them assistance and guidance when they need it most.’
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Police have handcuffed 14 people they say oversaw a human trafficking operation at San Diego Comic-Con. Police officers stand outside the San Diego Convention Center on the first day of the event, July 24.
The arrests and rescues were made between Thursday and Saturday, the prosecutor’s office said, by a multi-agency task force made up of federal and state agents.
Despite the scale of the operation, convention operators suggested they were unaware of the three-day operation.
“We obviously find this very disturbing and while we were not aware of this operation, we understand that the arrests were made outside of the event,” San Diego Comic Con said in a statement to IGN.
“We work closely with a variety of law enforcement entities throughout the year and stand ready to assist in any way we can.”
Concluding on Sunday, the popular comic book and pop culture event takes place at the San Diego Convention Center each summer and draws more than 100,000 people.
This year was no different, with recent movie releases like Deadpool and Wolverine igniting fervor among visitors.
As people flocked to certain exhibits, officers and agents part of the task force posed as sex buyers to identify and arrest traffickers.
They also managed to locate the possible victims, said officials from the Attorney General’s Office.
The raid occurred over the weekend, authorities said, and 10 victims were saved, including a 16-year-old girl.
The arrests and rescues were carried out between Thursday and Saturday, the attorney general’s office said, by a multi-agency task force made up of federal and state agents. Undercover agents also used online advertisements to catch the intruders, which proved successful.
“Unfortunately, sex traffickers take advantage of large-scale events like Comic-Con to exploit their victims and make a profit,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “These arrests send a clear message to would-be offenders that their criminal behavior will not be tolerated.”
Undercover agents also used online ads to catch intruders, and were successful.
“When individuals use these events as an opportunity to prey on minors, HSI (Homeland Security Investigations) and our law enforcement partners will find them and bring them before a court of law to face criminal charges,” Christopher Davis, acting special agent in charge of HSI San Diego, said in a separate statement.
“There is no place for suspected predators to operate in our city.”
As of Thursday, no names had been released for any of the suspects or victims. Authorities are still investigating the case.
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