Agents and investigators in Tuscaloosa made three dozen arrests recently during a human trafficking investigation and a separate undercover prostitution bust, police report. Simpson said the first case began in February and involved a specific human trafficking investigation. That investigation led to 23 arrests, he said. Additionally, the task force was out in Tuscaloosa last week conducting an undercover detail targeting suspects who were soliciting prostitution - that operation was separate from the other investigation and was not unlike many other stings the task force has run in the area before.
Our ultimate goal is to stop people from being exploited and victimized by traffickers. Police say the larger human trafficking investigation began on February 7th, when investigators with the Alabama Bureau of Investigation spoke to a woman at a Tuscaloosa hotel and suspected she might be the victim of human trafficking. Simpson said the West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force responded to the hotel, where volunteers with Trafficking Hope helped the victim obtain medical care and other essentials.
Agents gathered enough information to charge Cedric Marquis Spencer, 31, of Tuscaloosa with first-degree human trafficking that day. In each case, the suspects were charged with one or multiple counts of soliciting prostitution. None of people arrested in this follow-up were charged with felonies, and it is the general policy of the Thread to not publish the names of criminal suspects who are only accused of committing misdemeanors.
The undercover detail was conducted last week, and during the operation, police officers posed as women offering sex for sale on different apps and websites. Bond will be set by a judge. Stephen Dethrage Published: May 21, Share on Facebook Share on Twitter. Get our free mobile app.
