Durham County Sheriff’s Office worked alongside State Bureau of Investigations officers this week to conduct a human trafficking demand reduction operation.

The office shared a release on Friday, saying the operation was implemented at a hotel in Durham County on Thursday. The investigation resulted in 18 citations on charges of Solicitation of Prostitution, a record amount for single-day arrests on such charges. In addition, investigators seized property that included 8.5 grams of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, a video game console and currency ranging from $35 to $211 as agreed-upon payment for services.

“Sex trade workers are often victims of human trafficking,” said the Durham County Sheriff’s Office, “and in an effort to deter traffickers, DCSO and the SBI targeted the demand side of this crime. In doing this we hope to lower the chances of women being exploited.”

According to the release, the operation was part of the Sheriff’s Strategic Targeted Enforcement Program, called STEP. Previous STEP efforts have focused on arresting people on outstanding warrants for crimes such as possession of a firearm by a felon, drug trafficking, and assault.

The full release from the Durham County Sheriff’s Office can be found here.

 

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