(The Center Square) – Federal and state authorities continue to apprehend violent illegal foreign nationals in Tennessee, including members of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) involved in a multi-state sex trafficking ring.
In one major case, eight Venezuelan nationals and confirmed TdA members were indicted for allegedly operating an illegal commercial sex and sex trafficking enterprise out of Nashville motels for roughly two years. The pattern is similar to other sex trafficking rings uncovered in other states: illegal border crossers facilitate illegal entry after luring victims and force them into prostitution.
All eight were charged with multiple felonies for allegedly “recruiting of young women from impoverished parts of Venezuela and other South and Central American countries, then facilitating their transportation across the U.S. southern border and across state lines to engage in commercial sex in the Nashville area,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Three defendants were charged “with sex trafficking conspiracy for conspiring to use force, fraud, and coercion to compel the women into engaging in commercial sex acts for the defendants’ profit that include invoking alleged ties to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and its reputation for violence.” Another was charged with “possession of a firearm by an illegal alien.”
A mother and two of her sons were charged “with conspiring to impose a coercive debt scheme upon the victims to compel them to continue engaging in commercial sex acts until the defendants deemed their debts repaid.”
The indictment was the result of a multi-agency operation led by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations, whose director David Rausch sounded the alarm about TdA expanding criminal activity in Tennessee, The Center Square reported.
“We will not allow TdA – or any criminal organization – to get a stronghold in Tennessee,” Rausch said, adding, “We stand prepared to continue aggressively investigating human trafficking in our state, holding traffickers and buyers accountable and helping victims take their first steps toward becoming survivors.”
After the indictment was unsealed, TBI announced that another alleged trafficker connected to the scheme had been arrested in Texas. She was charged with three counts of promoting prostitution, held in the Waller County, Texas, jail prior to extradition to Tennessee.
In another case, two Mexican nationals and two men from California pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess and intent to distribute cocaine, among other felony drug charges, for their role in trafficking multiple kilograms of cocaine between California and western Tennessee. Two of them had been previously convicted for narcotics trafficking in western Tennessee, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Agents seized over 25 kilograms of cocaine, including more than 45 pounds of cocaine during a traffic stop, as well as several firearms during the investigation.
In another case, 12 men were sentenced to a combined 70 years in prison for a California-based drug trafficking scheme. In this multi-agency investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, agents began investigating large shipments of counterfeit fentanyl-laced pills with “M30” stamps on them. The pills, as well as methamphetamine and marijuana, were being shipped to Tennessee and 16 states from California, according to ICE.
After an extensive investigation and execution of search warrants at multiple residences in California and Tennessee, agents found handguns, rifles, bulk cash, expensive cars, marijuana and large quantities of counterfeit fentanyl pills. The defendants were convicted of conspiring to distribute controlled substances and unlawfully possessing firearms after having been previously convicted of felony offenses.
ICE agents are also continuing to arrest illegal border crossers. Recent arrests include a Honduran national in the country illegally, arrested in Memphis on assault charges as well as Nicaraguans and Venezuelans arrested in Memphis, Steven Stavinoha, CBP’s Director of Field Operations-New Orleans, said.
In other cases, a Mexican national was charged with “possession of ammunition by an illegal alien and unlawful reentry” after shooting at a man multiple times in Antioch, Tenn. He’d been previously deported twice, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Also in Antioch, a Venezuelan national illegally in the U.S., with a criminal history related to immigration offenses, was arrested and charged with “unlawful possession of a firearm by an illegal alien,” according to the complaint. In this case, five men involved fled on foot and were caught.
In another case, a convicted sex offender was arrested in Gibson County after previously being convicted of sexual battery in Oklahoma and illegally reentering the U.S. after having previously been deported.
