'Chica Cards' and Child Prostitution: Feds Break Up Mexico-to-Queens Sex Trafficking Ring

Eight Mexican men, including four extradited to the United States in the last two weeks, were part of an extensive sex trafficking operation that involved prostituting abused girls and women in Queens and beyond over a 16-year period, officials said.

The years-long probe was led by Homeland Security Investigations, a division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The special agent in charge of the division in New York City, Angel Melendez, spoke exclusively to WNYC's Sean Carlson about the investigation and subsequent indictments. The interview can be played from this page.

The alleged scheme involved kidnapping females in Mexico and then smuggling them to Queens. They saw between 20 and 40 customers a day, each of them for 15 minutes each. Customers paid $30 a session. The victims worked in brothels and through a delivery service, traveling in New York and nearby states.

Several of the defendants are related. They are: Efrain Granados-Corona, Raul Romero-Granados, Isaac Lomeli-Rivera, Juan Romero-Granados, Alan Romero-Granados, Pedro Romero-Granados, Emilio Romero-Granados and Julio Sainz-Flores.

The defendants who have so far appeared in court have pleaded not guilty. Two of the eight men were previously arrested last year in the United States, five were extradited from Mexico and one extradition is still expected. 

Aaron Goldsmith, attorney for Effrain Granados-Corona, said he plans a vigorous defense. "We believe from some of the preliminary documentation that there may be a significant amount of contradictions in the investigation," he said.