Latest news with #stingoperation
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Local law enforcement, ICE conduct targeted enforcement operation in Charleston area
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Several law enforcement agencies are conducting a targeted enforcement operation around the Lowcountry, according to the Charleston County Sheriff's Office. The State Law Enforcement Division, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and several other agencies, including local ones, have partnered to conduct the operation throughout the Charleston area. The sheriff's office said they would provide additional information as investigations progress. News 2 has contacted ICE, SLED, and numerous local agencies said to be participating for further details of the operation. A news conference will be held Monday at 10 a.m. to discuss the details of a successful sting operation that took place overnight from Saturday to Sunday in Ladson. The Charleston County Sheriff's Office will host the multi-agency conference at their headquarters. According to Charleston County jail records, at least four individuals have been arrested from May 31 to June 1 on ICE holds; however, it has not been confirmed whether the arrests are connected to the operations. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Yahoo
Livingston County vigilante sting operation leads to two men being turned over to ICE
The Brief Two undocumented immigrants are facing deportation after being caught allegedly trying to meet up with an underage boy. The two men allegedly thought they were about to have sex with a 13-year-old boy. The men are now with ICE. DETROIT (FOX 2) - Two undocumented immigrants are facing deportation after getting caught in a sting, allegedly trying to meet up with an underage boy. They have now been handed over to ICE. Meanwhile, the group behind the sting operation were bikers who catch predators at night. The backstory 'Bikers Against Predators' president, nicknamed "Boots," confronted two men. They allegedly thought they were about to have sex with a 13-year-old boy. The group, similar to other vigilante groups out there, uses dating apps and social media, posing as children and teens, to catch child predators in the act. "This case particularly was on Grindr, which we use sometimes, but most of our cases are from social media like Facebook, Instagram," Boots said. Dig deeper 28-year-old Luis Hernandez-Bonilla and 30-year-old Carlos Aguilar-Vazquez allegedly reached out to the 13-year-old decoy and planned to meet in Livingston County, between Howell and Brighton, back in April. Investigators say Luis Hernandez, who was in the U.S. illegally from Mexico, denied that the conversation with the teen even happened, even though the thread of messages was allegedly found on Aguilar-Vazquez's phone. What they're saying Livingston County Sheriff's deputies responded and vetted the situation, which led to taking them both into custody. "We are investigating these two individuals for solicitation of a minor. They have since been arrested and detained by ICE," said Livingston County Sheriff Mike Murphy. "We'll continue to do the investigation on the solicitation and, once that's done, we will turn it over to the Livingston County Prosecutor's Office." What's next The men are now with ICE, with a formal federal complaint lodged against Luis Hernandez. It's unclear what happens next for his co-defendant. The encounter from Bikers Against Predators will be used as evidence. "Justice is what needs to happen, and these guys need to pay for these acts that they've done to our children and continue to," Boots said. The Source FOX 2 talked with the Livingston County Sheriff's Office for information on this report.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
3 busted in sex trafficking sting during week of F-1 Miami Grand Prix: officials
Three men were arrested on human trafficking charges during a joint federal, state and local sting operation conducted to coincide with the week of the Formula One Miami Grand Prix, according to the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office. The undercover operation — dubbed Operation Grease Monkey — targeted people looking to engage in sexual acts with minors between the ages of 12 and 14 years old, prosecutors said Tuesday. The men arrested responded to ads placed by undercover detectives. When they spoke with a detective posing as pimps, they were told that minors were available for sex in exchange for money, said State Attorney's Office spokeswoman Lissette Valdes-Valle. When the men traveled to a hotel, which was not named by the State Attorney's Office, they paid the undercover officer money and were given keys to rooms where they were told the underage girls would be. Each man was arrested when he opened the hotel room door, Valdes-Valles said. The meet-ups happened between Tuesday and Friday, the State Attorney's Office said. 'The ugly crime of Human Trafficking is made even more dreadful when the intended victims are children. Sadly, individuals are looking specifically for young victims,' Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a statement. 'Fortunately, as this joint effort shows, the Miami-Dade law enforcement community is united to fight such predators.' Arrested were: Daniel Xavier Oneil, 27; Tito Xavier Gutierrez, 38; and Tangir Jamil Riman, 27. Each man is charged with one count each of human trafficking, which is a first-degree felony, traveling to meet a minor for sex, a second-degree felony, and using an electronic device to solicit a parent to consent sex conduct with a child, which is a third-degree felony. As of Tuesday, Oneil and Riman were being held at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on no bond on the trafficking and traveling to meet minors charges, and a $2,500 bond for the count of using an electronic device to solicit sex. Gutierrez was being held at Metro West Detention Center on the same conditions. Attorneys for Gutierrez and Riman could not immediately be reached for comment. Information on Oneil's legal representation was not immediately available. The State Attorney's Office worked with several agencies during the multi-day operation, including the Miami, Coral Gables, Hialeah, Miami Beach, Key Biscayne, Sunny Isles and Surfside police departments, the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations. Investigators ask anyone with information about human trafficking in South Florida to call the State Attorney's Office hotline at 305-FIX-STOP (305-349-7867) or to scan the agency's QR code.
