Posted on Sat, May. 30, 2009 10:15 PM

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More vigilance needed on human trafficking

The United States, belatedly, ended the inhuman practice of slavery 144 years ago with the 13th amendment to the Constitution. Yet, last week 12 area residents at three companies were indicted in U.S. District Court in Kansas City on charges relating to human trafficking.

According to authorities, those indicted brought workers from impoverished nations such as Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and the Phillipines to the U.S. with promises of jobs and a better life, and then subjected them to treatment that amounts to modern-day human bondage.

The greed and cruelty described in these charges summon outrage. Agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and lawyers in the U.S. attorney’s office in Kansas City deserve credit for putting together the case, but must not rest on it. If the allegations are proven in court, this sort of horrific scam calls for strong penalties and vigilance against further abuse.

Acting U.S. Attorney Matt Whitworth Friday noted that the justice department is intent on fighting the practice. Authorities in the Kansas City area earlier prosecuted the China Rose case, which involved four Johnson County residents who allegedly brought Asian nationals into Kansas City to work as prostitutes in massage parlors.

Former President George W. Bush called trafficking “a crime against human dignity,â€