Authorities discovered a labor trafficking ring was exploiting nearly a dozen children as young as 12 years old while executing search warrants at 14 businesses and two motels in Nebraska. The operation resulted in the arrest of five individuals.
Through a collaborative effort involving federal, state and local law enforcement, authorities conducted the search warrants on Tuesday at each of the locations across the Omaha metro area and in central Nebraska.
Four of the motels targeted in the raid included The AmericInn, The Inn, The New Victorian and the Roadway Inn, according to a Tuesday press release from the U.S Attorney’s Office in the District of Nebraska.
During the operation, authorities rescued the 10 children and 17 adults forced to work at the hotels for long hours with almost no pay. The victims were forced to pay for lodging at the hotels, even though the accommodations were “unclean, unsafe, and unhealthy,” according to the complaint affidavit.
“There is no evil greater than the evil that seeks to trap, oppress, and exploit human beings for profit or pleasure,” U.S. Attorney Lesley A. Woods said in the provided statement.
“Where that evil exists, Nebraska law enforcement working together at the federal, state, and local levels, as occurred in this case, will seek it, find it, root it out, and ensure every rescued victim has an opportunity to obtain justice and freedom from their captors,” the attorney continued.
On the day of the raids, authorities also arrested five suspects who were the owners and managers of the hotels. The arrested and charged suspects include: Kentakumar Chaudhari, 36; Rashmi Ajit Samani, 42; Amit Prahladbhai Chaudhari, 32; Amit Babubhai Chaudhari, 33; and Maheshkumar Chaudhari, 38.
The suspects face a range of charges, as, in addition to the conspiracy to engage in labor trafficking, at least one of the defendants reportedly engaged in a sex trafficking conspiracy that involved minors and adults. The complaint affidavit alleges that sex trafficking victims were abused by “the traditional perpetrators of a sex trafficking scheme,” but also by the hotel management and staff.
Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel, leader of the Omaha FBI Field Office, referred to human trafficking as “a form of modern-day slavery.”
“This investigation revealed victims right here in the heart of the heartland forced into sexual activity, living and working in dangerous and filthy conditions, and extorted to work in grueling jobs with little to no pay,” added Kowel in a prepared statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“We will always stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners to aggressively identify and apprehend perpetrators of human trafficking, hold them accountable, and obtain justice for victims,” he added.
“Our approach to these horrific cases is always centered on the victims. We encourage anyone who may be a victim or have information about human trafficking to call us,” Kowel said. “We will continue to surge resources to arrest violent offenders in our community as part of the FBI’s Summer Heat Initiative.”
These defendants are also accused of drug trafficking and harboring individuals who entered the country illegally. One of the suspects is accused of attempting to obtain U visas under fraudulent circumstances.
Authorities also seized more than $565,000 in the raids, which they believe was obtained through money laundering. The U.S. Marshal Service is working to recover money that the defendants reportedly acquired illegally.
Earlier this year in Michigan, the Farmington Hills Police Department worked alongside the human trafficking task force and the prosecutor’s office to investigate a human trafficking enterprise involving illicit massage parlors.
In April, Paul Richard Katterman II was charged with allegedly helping his wife, Zixuan Wan, traffic four non-English-speaking women from China. The four women worked at three different locations in Farmington Hills, Westland and Commerce Township.
Katterman’s wife was charged by the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office in March, but faced new charges in April, including money laundering, conducting a criminal enterprise and failure to file taxes.
And in Florida, a joint law enforcement operation resulted in the rescue of 60 missing children between the ages of 9 and 17. The effort, called Operation Dragon Eye, resulted in the arrests of eight defendants who faced charges ranging from human trafficking, child endangerment, drug possession and drug trafficking.
“[T]he successful recovery of 60 missing children, complemented with the arrest of eight individuals, including child predators, signifies the most successful missing child recovery effort in the history of the United States Marshals Service; or to my knowledge, any other similar operation held in the United States,” U.S. Marshal for the Central District of Florida, William Berger, said in a statement at the time.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
