Nearly a dozen people were arrested during an overnight Washington State Patrol (WSP) operation targeting human trafficking and prostitution near truck stops in Pierce, King and Snohomish counties.
The undercover effort, called Operation Human Freight, was launched by WSP’s Commercial Vehicle Division after officers noted suspicious activity around commercial truck corridors, according to a news release.
Detectives established a base Nov. 25 at a truck stop in northern Pierce County along the I-5 corridor.
Within eight hours, officers contacted 11 women identified as victims of prostitution and human trafficking. A 41-year-old Tacoma, Wash., man with 19 prior felony convictions was arrested and booked into the Pierce County Jail on human-trafficking and promoting-prostitution charges.
“This operation demonstrates our determination to hold traffickers accountable and safeguard vulnerable members of our community,” WSP chief John Batiste said in the release.
