You’re watching the NBC6 South Florida News streaming channel, which plays local South Florida news 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can find the “NBC6 South Florida News” streaming channel on your phone or computer, and on Peacock, Samsung, Roku, Xumo or on our app, so you can watch our local news on your schedule.
Three men were arrested in a human trafficking operation in Miami-Dade that took place during the Miami Grand Prix, authorities said.
"Operation Grease Monkey" involved multiple agencies and was held over three days while the Formula One race was in town at Hard Rock Stadium, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office said Tuesday.
Watch NBC6 free wherever you are
WATCH HEREDetectives placed prostitution ads and people who responded were told they could pay for sex acts with a 12 or 14-year-old child, authorities said.
The suspects agreed and arrived to have sex with the underage girls and paid money to an undercover detective who posed as a pimp, prosecutors said.
Get local news you need to know to start your day with NBC 6's News Headlines newsletter.
SIGN UP
They were given a room key and when they entered the room to engage in the sex acts, they were taken into custody.
The three suspects arrested - 27-year-old Daniel Xavier Oneil, 38-year-old Tito Xavier Gutierrez, and 27-year-old Tangir Jamil Riman - face charges including human trafficking of a minor, traveling to meet a minor to engage in unlawful sexual conduct, and using an electronic device to solicit a parent to consent to sex conduct with a child.
All three were booked into jail. Human trafficking of a felon is a life felony, prosecutors said.
Local
The investigation involved the State Attorney's Office Human Trafficking Task Force, Homeland Security Investigation Internet Against Crimes against Children, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, US Customs and Border Patrol, Florida Highway Patrol, and Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, along with the Miami, Coral Gables, Hialeah, Miami Beach, South Miami, Key Biscayne, Sunny Isles Beach and Surfside police departments.
"The ugly crime of Human Trafficking is made even more dreadful when the intended victims are children. Sadly, individuals are looking specifically for young victims," Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a statement. "Fortunately, as this joint effort shows, the Miami-Dade law enforcement community is united to fight such predators."
