Almost 30 people arrested after alleged human trafficking operation in Coral Gables – Telemundo Miami (51)
Nearly 30 people were taken into custody Friday in Coral Gables as part of an investigation into a possible human trafficking operation, authorities said.
Telemundo 51 images showed several women who were detained near Ingraham Park, where there was a large police presence.
Coral Gables police, state police (FDLE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) participated in the operation.
A woman said she saw authorities arresting several people near a U-Haul van and that the people were placed in a trolley of the city.
At a news conference, Coral Gables Police Chief Ed Hudak said 23 people who were found in a U-Haul van and three other people who were in a Toyota were taken into custody.
The people in the U-Haul included 6 women and 15 men from China, along with a Cuban and an Ecuadorian woman, Hudak said.
In the Toyota were two Cubans, two Ecuadorians and a Brazilian woman, possibly kidnapped.
Hudak said at least four of the people in custody are believed to be responsible for the operation and they are trying to determine whether it involved human smuggling or human trafficking.
“Smuggling is criminal assistance to someone who wants to enter the country illegally,” Hudak explained. “Human trafficking could begin with trafficking and illegal entry into the country and then being used for modern slavery or criminal activities.”
Hudak said the incident occurred around 9:30 a.m. when a “very alert” security guard from a local community observed what appeared to be the abduction of a person on Old Cutler Road involving the Toyota and the U-Haul.
The security guard notified police and an officer stopped the vehicles.
Agents quickly noticed that the van was full of people and all of the people were taken into custody and turned over to federal authorities, Hudak said.
The police chief said it is believed the group arrived in south Florida on a boat and possibly disembarked in south Coral Gables before being loaded into the van.
