BSO’S WORLD CUP OPERATION DELIVERS RED CARD TO HUMAN TRAFFICKERS
| PIO Number | 26-7-4 | Case Number | 90-2605-007133 |
| Date | Various | Time | Various |
| Jurisdiction | Various | ||
| Place of Occurrence | Various |
||
| Suspect(s) | 1. Luis Paredes Guerra, 26, 7/8/1999, male, 1830 Sheridan St., Hollywood 2. Grant Werner, 25, 6/4/2001, male, 2 S.W. Sixth Ave., Dania Beach 3. Marco Ramirez Linares, 22, 6/17/2004, male, 1907 Scott St., Hollywood 4. Luis Chifundo Ortiz, 23, 10/29/2002, male, 500 S.W. 101 Ter., Pembroke Pines 5. Ryan Walker, 50, 9/30/1975, male, 1900 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Fort Lauderdale 6. Zubaer Ashar, 27, 6/27/1998, male, 1027 Island Manor Dr., Greenacres 7. Kyle Rosenthal, 32, 5/28/1994, male, 4164 N.W. 90th Ave., Coral Springs |
Description of Incident
Safety takes the field as the Broward Sheriff’s Office Division of Homeland Security and Cyber Crime, South Florida Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, and partnering agencies, intensify human trafficking enforcement surrounding the World Cup matches through Operation Red Card.
In soccer, a red card ejects a player from the match for a serious violation. Through this operation, law enforcement delivered that same message to human traffickers. They are not welcome here.
BSO partnered with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), Broward State Attorney’s Office (SAO), Nancy J. Cotterman Center (NJCC) Human Trafficking Unit, Fort Lauderdale Police Department, Hollywood Police Department, Lauderhill Police Department, Coconut Creek Police Department and BSO’s Department of Detention to arrest individuals looking to exploit minors for commercial sex acts.
The operation resulted in seven men arrested on charges that include human trafficking of a minor, traveling to meet a minor, solicitation of a minor, possession of MDMA and violation of probation.
Over the course of the operation, ten victims were rescued and connected to critical resources such as shelter, medical care and counseling to help them rebuild their lives. Additionally, one of the victims was identified as a teenage runaway from out of town. She was reunited with her family and offered extensive support services.
The operation yielded leads for detectives on additional human trafficking investigations, which could result in further charges and arrests. However, details cannot be released at this time as the investigations are ongoing.
BSO remains committed to helping eradicate human trafficking in Broward. If you suspect human trafficking in your community, BSO encourages you to contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888, text "BeFree" to 233733 or call the BSO non-emergency number at 954-764-4357 (HELP). For emergencies and in-progress crimes, dial or text 911.
To learn more about human trafficking and how you can help prevent it, visit www.sheriff.org/humantrafficking or https://humantraffickinghotline.org.
Sgt. E. Rockey, BSO ICAC/HT
FBI, HSI, FDLE, SAO, NJCC
FLPD, HWPD, LPD, CCPD
BSO DOD
Miranda Grossman/PIO