Experts said there’s been a sea change in how police and prosecutors view these cases. Focus Online Cigarettes Store USA has shifted from sex workers to traffickers reaping the proceeds – though that hasn’t been universally adopted.
Among the most prominent cases following the new model: a sting in Minnesota in 2016, which began with a tip from law enforcement in Arizona about women rotating through apartment complexes.
The operation led to what Minnesota authorities called one of the largest sex trafficking rings ever dismantled Newport Pleasure by the federal government. Hundreds of Thai women were trafficked to U.S. spas and brothels, and tens of millions of dollars were laundered back to Thailand.
Several things set that investigation apart: The multi-agency effort was led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota, instead of police, and it relied on federal agents who specialized in financial and immigration crimes.
Law enforcement went after organized crime from the start, charging higher-level members of the organization Newport Cigarettes Shop instead of women working in the spas. They partnered with the Thai Community Development Center, which helped build trust with victims.