Human Trafficking Suspects Caught, May be More Victims

by patch.com , May 28, 2013

Two men have been arrested as suspects in human trafficking of women, who were kidnapped in Long Beach and forced into prostitution before they escaped in Culver City, police said.

Eric Avery

And detectives suspect there are more victims of the same crimes.

Two captives prompted the investigation May 15 when they told police they fled from a pair that had kidnapped them in Long Beach and forced them into sex for hire in Los Angeles and Orange counties, said the Long Beach Police Department.

It was not clear where the women were held but they escaped their captors in Culver City, and made their way to Hawthorne, where they went to police. Hawthorne police called Long Beach detectives, the department said in a news release. Detectives in the Vice Investigations Detail, the Sex Crimes Detail, the Juvenile Investigations Section, and patrol officers worked together on the case.

Two suspects were arrested about 7 p.m. May 16 during a traffic stop near Pine Avenue and Bay Street in Long Beach, said LBPD’s news announcement, made Friday. The L.A. District Attorney’s Office on May 20 filed nine felony charges