TRENTON, N.J (1010 WINS) -- Eight Trenton residents were arrested in a takedown of a human trafficking ring targeting immigrant girls and women, New Jersey State Police announced Thursday.
Authorities believe the operation smuggled the women and girls into the country and promised them work when they arrived. The smugglers then forced them into prostitution once they crossed the border, according to police.
On Jan. 21, police suspected a minor was being trafficked out of a residence on Hudson Street in Trenton.
Law enforcement executed a search warrant on home and found two victims.
During the raid they arrested Bonito Camara, 55, and Edy Villeda Estrada, 39.
One of the girls, a minor, was smuggled from Mexico to Texas believing she’d be working in a restaurant.
When she arrived in the U.S. she was forced into the sex trafficking ring.
On May 11, law enforcement executed a second search warrant on multiple residences across Trenton.
During the operation, they found nine more victims — all of them brought into the U.S. under the pretense they’d be provided jobs.
“The trafficking of human beings is horrific, particularly when it involves the sexual exploitation of vulnerable women and girls lured to this country under the promise of a better life,” said Acting Attorney General Matt Platkin. “We are committed to working with the State Police and our law enforcement partners to arrest human traffickers and rescue their victims from the shadows, where these crimes occur.”
Police identified Paulino Macolas-Aguirre, 43, identified as the alleged ringleader.
In addition to Camara, Estrada and Macolas-Aguirre, police arrested Efran Melocastillo, 30; Jose Gabriel Camara Perico, 30; Laura Macolas Aguirre, 44; Daniel Handerson Camara Perico, 31; and Daniel Penco-Camara, 28.
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