Federal and local law enforcement agencies arrested nine people Wednesday, part of what officials described as a major “takedown” of a sex trafficking operation in the Figueroa corridor of South Los Angeles.
The operation, which unfolded early Wednesday morning, involved Homeland Security Investigations and the Los Angeles Police Department, according to First Assistant U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli, who said they were “targeting human trafficking in the Figueroa corridor, where girls as young as 14 are being sold for sex.”
A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in L.A. said an arrest was also made Monday tied to the case.
A federal indictment unsealed Wednesday said the accused were “members and associates of an organization known as the ‘Hoovers.’”
Authorities plan to release more details at a Wednesday morning press conference.
