14 people arrested and 10 victims recovered at San Diego Comic-Con in trafficking sting

14 people were arrested and 10 victims recovered in a huge sex trafficking sting at San Diego Comic-Con this past weekend, California police has confirmed.

The San Diego Comic-Con is a huge pop culture even that happens every year, which sees fan of cult shows meet and often dress in cosplay as they attend panels filled with Hollywood stars talking about big shows like The Boys. Celebrities like Sarah Michelle Gellar and Robert Downey Jr made surprise appearances. It’s a hugely popular event every year, 100,000 attendees over the four days it spans.

Law enforcement officials in California say the event was being used by human traffickers to seek victims. California attorney general Rob Bonta released a statement saying “Unfortunately, sex traffickers capitalise on large-scale events such as Comic-Con to exploit their victims for profit,” Mr Bonta said in a statement on Tuesday. “These arrests send a clear message to potential offenders that their criminal behaviour will not be tolerated.”

The police focussed their target on sex buyers at the convention, and that is how they made their arrests and recovered the potential victims. The California officers worked undercover and posed as sex buyers to identify criminals operating at Comic-Con and to also identify who might be a target. 9 adult victims were helped, and one child victim who was 16 years of age.

Kelly Martinez, San Diego sheriff, praised the actions on the trafficking sting at Comic-Con and the justice saying “there is no more insidious crime than human trafficking. I appreciate the focus that was placed on the recent convention to identify and rescue victims of human trafficking.”

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