Nine people are behind bars after an undercover operation busted them for alleged human trafficking, Miami-Dade County prosecutors announced Friday.
The men paid cash thinking they were going to have sex with children, but when they showed up, they were taken down by law enforcement instead, prosecutors said.
Last month, a variety of law enforcement agencies conducted an operation with undercover officers posing as underage minors on an advertisement used to solicit prostitution and human traffickers.
The men allegedly responded to ads with images of young girls using a phone number and met up at a hotel with who they thought were the mothers of the victims, prosecutors said.
The Hurricane season is on. Our meteorologists are ready. Sign up for the NBC 6 Weather newsletter to get the latest forecast in your inbox.
Once they met in person, they allegedly discussed pay and what they were going to get in exchange -- and the age of the victims, which ranged from 13-15 years old.
As they were given a key to the room and entered, police were inside instead and arrested the men on the spot.
"What I think is so important about this case is there wasn't any victims – there were no 13, 14, 15-year-olds that had to suffer through this, and yet we were able to catch 10 predators who are now prevented and who are in jail...and are not out there looking for the real 13, 14, 15-year-olds to exploit," Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said.
Local
All nine were charged with human trafficking, which comes with life in prison if convicted. They're all being held in jail with no bond and face a variety of other charges.
If you are a victim of human trafficking or would like to report human trafficking, call Miami-Dade's task force at 305-FIX-STOP or the national hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
