Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton today praised the work of law enforcement officers who participated in a joint operation to fight human trafficking during the 2015 Formula One racing event in Austin. State officers with the Attorney General’s Office Human Trafficking Unit joined the Austin Police Human Trafficking Unit, and their Region 2 and Region 4 Metro Tactical Teams in an undercover operation running from Oct. 20 to 24, resulting in the arrest of 35 people.
“These arrests reflect a coordinated state and local law enforcement effort to crack down on human trafficking during big scale events like F1,” said Attorney General Ken Paxton. “The Office of the Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Unit routinely participates in operations with other law enforcement agencies in an effort to identify possible victims of human trafficking, many times underage victims who fall pray of traffickers and are forced into prostitution.”
According to investigators, of the 35 people arrested during the undercover operation, the majority face charges of Solicitation of Prostitution or Prostitution, including a man arrested for Solicitation of Prostitution who allegedly was part of local efforts to help human trafficking victims. The State officers did not find minors, victims of human trafficking in this operation. Major events like F1 attract thousands of people from around the world; unfortunately traffickers take advantage of these well attended events to profit and exploit their victims. The Texas Attorney General's Office will continue working with state and local authorities to prevent this horrific crime.
Human trafficking is a crime that involves recruiting, harboring, transporting or obtaining a person and forcing that person to labor against their will. Human trafficking includes involuntary servitude, slavery or forced commercial sexual acts. The U.S. Department of State estimates that more than 20 million adults and children are currently victims of forced labor and prostitution worldwide, including in the United States.
For more information about the Office of the Attorney General’s battle against human trafficking visit the agency’s website at www.texasattorneygeneral.gov.