Smuggler’s Blues: West Texas Human Trafficking and Prostitution Schemes Busted

After spending a year investigating what authorities believed to be a massive human trafficking ring in West Texas, the efforts of the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) have finally paid off.

Human Trafficking Ring in West Texas Busted

According to the recent news release from DPS, investigators discovered a massive network of human traffickers with an influence reaching from Cuba through Central America and into El Paso—a distance of over 1,600 miles.

Investigators then learned the tragic truth: women smuggled into the U.S. were forced into prostitution in order to pay their smugglers. These victims were advertised by people online selling these women and transporting them to their "buyers."

Nine People Arrested in Human Trafficking Bust

DPS agents arrested a total of nine people who were involved in a long list of criminal charges, including the following:

• Prostitution
• Aggravated promotion of prostitution
• Online promotion of prostitution
• Possession of a controlled substance
• Alien inadmissibility
• Solicitation of prostitution
• Engaging in organized criminal activity

In a shocking turn of events, one person who was arrested was actually an attorney who was accused of soliciting women for sexual acts with clients.

The attorney was booked into the El Paso County Jail, along with two others who were charged with promotion of prostitution and possession of a controlled substance.

As of October 31, the investigation remains ongoing from Texas DPS.