Thread: ICE agents make human trafficking-related arrest in south Mi

ICE agents make human trafficking-related arrest in south Minneapolis

By Trisha Volpe, KARE 11 News


Last Updated: 3/7/2008 9:12:22 AM


Federal authorities say they've made another arrest related to human trafficking and a prostitution ring in south Minneapolis.

An official with Immigration Customs Enforcement - ICE - says agents executed a search warrant Thursday at an apartment building on Park Avenue South, with the help of Minneapolis and Saint Paul police, as well as the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

It was part of an ongoing prostitution investigation that started last May.

That's when federal agents busted a brothel in south Minneapolis.

Several suspects were indicted on federal charges related to human trafficking - essentially bringing women into the country illegally to work as sex slaves.

On Thursday, agents arrested a man they didn't get during the first raid.

The bust is part of a growing issue in Minneapolis, where local police say they've identified 30 leads on potential human trafficking cases here.

That was all part of a police presentation made to city council members this week in an effort to raise awareness and potentially money to fight the problem.

"People say well why don't they walk away? And I'll say often we don't find people who are chained to beds, but what we're finding is people who are very frightened, who don't have resources locally?being managed by someone who is telling them things that aren't very true about the environment that they're living in," says Deputy Minneapolis Police Chief Valerie Wurster.

While it is a federal issue, because local police departments are coming face to face with more and more cases of human trafficking, there is a hope by Minneapolis police that future city budgets might provide for more resources to help deal with the issue.

As for Thursday's arrest, 28-year-old Julio Silverio is in federal custody and is charged with conspiracy, transporting a person here to work as a prostitute, and coercing a person to come here to engage in prostitution.

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article ... yid=501049

another IA pimp bites the dust