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Alleged human trafficking ring broken up
An alleged human trafficking ring was busted in New Jersey, as seven people were indicted in two separate human trafficking enterprises across North and South Jersey.
BRIDGETON, N.J. - An alleged human trafficking ring was busted in New Jersey, as state officials announced seven people were indicted in two separate human trafficking enterprises across North and South Jersey.
One of the operations was in Bridgeton, Cumberland County, where police say they were bringing in new women every week.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, the Division of Criminal Justice, and the New Jersey State Police announced that seven defendants were indicted in connection with two separate human trafficking operations in North and South Jersey.
Investigators say one human trafficking ring was based in Essex County, where they say a female trafficker allegedly used acts of physical violence to control teenage victims, subjecting them to sexual assaults by strangers and profiting from the abuse.
In the other case, in Bridgeton, Cumberland County, investigators say every week new women were brought to a house on North Laurel Street from Queens, New York and Patterson, New Jersey.
"Women were recruited under the false pretense that they would be working as dancers but instead they were taken to a Bridgeton home where they were offered for commercial sex," says Platkin. "They were taken down to Bridgeton where they were allegedly forced to perform sex acts on hundreds of men during the week and while at the house the victims also allegedly witnessed violent activity."
Investigators say the state grand jury returned an indictment against Usiel Luna, 42, of Bridgeton, along with his alleged co-conspirators - Jose Perez-Lopez, 40, Rosendo Vazquez-Hernandez, 35, and Yerson Puentes-Marquez, 28 - all from Bridgeton. Investigators allege the defendants also distributed drugs, including methamphetamine and cocaine.
"We must dispel the myths and misconceptions about human trafficking including this commonly held notion that this only happens to other people," says Platkin.
Mahmoud Zayyad, a business owner for decades in Bridgeton, including an auto shop across the street from the alleged brothel, says he could never have imagined what was going on there.
"I never noticed one of those places here, especially across the street from one of my shops," he says. "Especially with the kids and the families in the area, they don’t want to hear that there was a prostitution house next to you. I think they should be punished."
Investigators say Luna, who was charged as an operator of the ring, could face 20 years to life behind bars if convicted.
The NJ Attorney General’s Office urges anyone being victimized, or members of the public who see someone they suspect is being subjected to this type of exploitation, to call their confidential hotline, 855-END-NJ-HT.