Arrests in human trafficking sting at California's Comic-Con

Law enforcement officials in California said they have arrested 14 people and recovered 10 victims during a human trafficking bust at the San Diego Comic-Con Convention.

The convention, which took place 25 July to 28 July, is a comic book and culture event that draws around 100,000 attendees to San Diego each year.

Police say Comic-Con has been used by human traffickers to seek out potential victims.

The arrests were made after an operation that was conducted by California’s Human Trafficking Task Force over the course of the convention, according to California attorney general Rob Bonta.

“Unfortunately, sex traffickers capitalise on large-scale events such as Comic-Con to exploit their victims for profit,” Mr Bonta said in a statement on Tuesday.

“These arrests send a clear message to potential offenders that their criminal behavior will not be tolerated.”

Police were focused on targeting sex buyers at the convention, recovering potential victims of sex trafficking as well as arresting traffickers, according to the California Department of Justice.

Officers worked undercover as sex buyers to identify potential victims and arrest their traffickers. They also posted undercover advertisements soliciting sex to catch and arrest sex buyers.

In total, 14 sex buyers were arrested. Nine adult potential victims of sex trafficking were recovered and offered social services, as well as one 16-year-old.

The operation was lauded by several local and law enforcement agencies. San Diego’s sheriff Kelly Martinez said that “there is no more insidious crime than human trafficking”.

“I appreciate the focus that was placed on the recent convention to identify and rescue victims of human trafficking,” Sheriff Martinez said.

It is estimated that there are 27.6 million victims of human trafficking worldwide at any given time, according to the US Department of State.

More than 2,000 people were referred to US attorneys for human-trafficking offenses in 2021, according to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics. Data shows that human-trafficking arrests have doubled from 2011 to 2021.