Press-Telegram
By City News Service
By October 13, 2015
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Hundreds of juvenile victims of human trafficking were recovered and their pimps arrested during a nationwide operation that included Long Beach and the Los Angeles area, the FBI announced Tuesday.
Nationally, 149 victims were recovered and 153 pimps arrested in “Operation Cross County IX,” which concluded over the weekend, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.
Jasmine K. Sohal, 20, and Gurshahbaaz Kahlon, 21, were arrested in Long Beach, Eimiller said. The two are in custody of the Long Beach Police Department pending federal charges.
Between Oct. 7 and Saturday, three juvenile victims and three pimps were arrested in the Los Angeles area by FBI and U.S. Homeland Security agents working with detectives from the Los Angeles, Long Beach, Pomona and Claremont police departments, as well as the county sheriff’s, probation and children and family services departments, Eimiller said.
The youngest of the victims nationwide was 12 years old, according to Eimiller, who said multiple adult prostitutes and their customers were also arrested.
Several local non-governmental organizations, including the Dream Center, Saving Innocence and the Coalition Against Slavery and Trafficking, participated in the operation, Eimiller said. …