(TheProudRepublic.com) – New Jersey authorities have dealt a major blow to human trafficking networks, arresting seven individuals involved in heinous crimes against minors and vulnerable women.
Two separate sex trafficking rings were dismantled in New Jersey, leading to the indictment of seven people. One of these rings targeted children as young as 13, forcing them into prostitution with adults for monetary gain.
21-year-old Khailah Meekins and 28-year-old Donte Barkley were indicted for trafficking two 15-year-old girls and a 13-year-old girl in Essex County.
The depravity of their actions knows no bounds, as Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin described, “subjecting them to sexual assaults by strangers.”
Meekins allegedly used extreme violence to control her victims, including beating them with an electrical cord.
Meanwhile, Barkley arranged meetings with strangers via smartphone apps after advertising the victims online with nude photos.
The second sex-trafficking ring, operating in Cumberland County, lured women under false pretenses and forced them into commercial sex work at a Bridgeton brothel.
42-year-old Usiel Luna and his co-conspirators Jose Perez-Lopez, Rosendo Vazquez-Hernandez, and Yerson Puentes-Marquez were indicted in connection with this operation.
A search of the brothel and Luna’s home uncovered $50,000 in cash, along with methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana.
Moreover, New Jersey’s status as a hub for human trafficking is alarming, with 2,107 cases identified since 2007.
“Ridding the world of human trafficking is not an easy task, and not one that we will accomplish alone,” GA Platkin stated.
While the authorities’ efforts to crack down on these criminal networks are commendable, the prevalence of such activities points to deeper societal issues.
In addition, efforts intensified with the creation of a dedicated human trafficking unit in the attorney general’s office.
Legal representatives of the accused plan to contest the charges, but the state remains resolute in its pursuit of justice.
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