Roundup of Suspects in a Human Trafficking Ring
New York, NY —
Federal and local authorities have managed to shutdown a human trafficking operation that used Korean women as prostitutes. 31 people were arrested all along the East Coast, including here in New York City. WNYC’s Richard Hake reports.
67 Korean women, virtually enslaved at 20 brothels in the northeast, were freed as part of a 15 month investigation that started in flushing queens. An undercover NYPD detective took bribes to look the other way from a Korean couple who operated several brothels. Julie Myers of the immigration and customs enforcement says the women were duped in Korea by being promised passage and a job in the u-s.
But we know the victims of trafficking and smuggling are not cargo, they are human beings who are often mentally and physically broken down in every way possible in order to achieve a mental state so they can't fight against their captors or try to escape.
Officials say immigration papers were often withheld from the victims until they paid off their debt. They were also threatened with being turned over to law enforcement or violence against their families in Korea. For wnyc, I’m Richard Hake.
