Mpls. police team up with ICE on prostitution bust

The Associated Press - Friday, December 14, 2007

MINNEAPOLIS

The Minneapolis Police Department and federal immigration agents teamed up for the first time on a long-term criminal investigation that recently busted a major prostitution operation.

The operation involved more than 100 Asian women illegally brought into the United States. Their activity put an estimated $70,000 a month into the pocket of the alleged ringleader - a Chinese national who has not yet been charged.

Law enforcement started building its case a year ago when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent learned of an illegal sex business in south Minneapolis.

The operation frequently moved since then, from a house in north Minneapolis to hotels in Bloomington.

The women - all Korean or Chinese - were brought in from Las Vegas, Flushing, N.Y., and Los Angeles. They worked a couple of weeks then moved.

When officers raided the operation on Thursday, the ring was running out of a massage parlor in Minneapolis' Uptown neighborhood and a posh apartment complex in St. Louis Park.

It's unclear if the ringleader had other brothels, but police have identified at least a dozen similar operations in the Twin Cities.

Minneapolis police Sgt. Grant Snyder, one of the lead investigators, said the ringleader was arrested in St. Paul for suspicion of promoting prostitution and could face state or federal charges, and more arrests could follow.

"This is the face of human trafficking in Minnesota," Snyder said. "It's no longer just the image people have of women chained to beds or being smuggled into the country hidden in boats. (Still,) the women in this ring were most likely coerced in some way."

The Twin Cities businesses were listed daily on Craigslist or in local U.S. and Chinese newspapers. Snyder said they even distributed fliers.

The clients were mostly white, upper-class men between ages 35 and 55, Snyder said. They included doctors, people celebrating birthdays and a Wisconsin business owner. The starting price was usually $80, all of which went to the leader. Any money earned by the women came through negotiations behind closed doors.

"Some were forced to the United States illegally to pay off debts," said Sgt. Matt Wente, another lead investigator. "Others came willingly for financial opportunities not possible in their homeland, but then got drawn in a prostitution network that is difficult to escape."

The four women found during Thursday's raids weren't arrested. Instead, representatives from the Jerry Vick Task Force, which works with crime victims, was on hand to help them find social services and temporary housing.

ICE special agent Jeremy Christenson opened the case and stayed with it through the investigation. Minneapolis police was also assisted by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and St. Paul police.

"This was a very successful case, and we hope to do more in the future," said ICE spokesman Tim Counts.

Minneapolis police were criticized earlier this year for assisting immigration agents during a prostitution bust because city policy prevents officers from involvement in routine immigration enforcement. Snyder wanted to make it clear this case was about criminal activity, not immigration issues.

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