LENOIR CITY & KNOXVILLE - July 23, 2018: Several arrested in multi-agency Human Trafficking Sting

Description

Knoxville and Lenoir City Police arrested four women and cited two more people to court over the weekend as part of a multiple-agency human trafficking sting, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Knoxville Field Office.

The FBI says three women were arrested for soliciting prostitution in Lenoir City. Knoxville Police Department officers arrested another woman and cited two individuals to court on the same charge.

In three of the cases, drug charges were also filed.

During the sting, undercover officers and agents contacted phone numbers from approximately 75 online advertisements that appeared to offer commercial sex acts.

Three women responded and showed up to a hotel in Lenoir City. Three individuals were operating out of their own motel room in Knoxville.

The sting was a periodically conducted operation meant to identify victims of human trafficking in East Tennessee, the FBI said in a written statement. FBI victim specialists provided local resources to all of those encountered during the sting.

Agents are still investigating whether or not the individuals involved were being forced to solicit sex.

Officers from the Lenoir City Police Department and the FBI's Knoxville Field Office conducted the sting. Homeland Security Investigations, the Blount County Sheriff's Office, and the Knoxville Police Department's Special Crimes Unit also assisted.