Source reports: Illegal immigrants linked to New Jersey prostitution crackdown

TRENTON – A local law enforcement source has told Shore News Network that a nationwide crackdown on human traffickers and prostitution rings may have involved illegal migrants and possibly even children.

Seven people have been charged in two human trafficking cases in New Jersey, including the alleged exploitation of minors in Essex County and a brothel operation in Cumberland County, state officials announced Monday.

In Essex County, three teenage victims – two 15-year-olds and a 13-year-old – were trafficked and forced into sexual exploitation, according to authorities. Prosecutors allege that Khailah Meekins, 21, and Donte Barkley, 28, both of Newark, used online advertisements containing nude photos of the minors to arrange sexual encounters at hotels and short-term rentals. The victims were subjected to threats, physical violence and beatings with an extension cord to maintain control, the indictment says.

In Cumberland County, Usiel Luna, 42, of Bridgeton, is accused of running a brothel operation in which women were allegedly recruited under false pretenses to work as dancers, only to be forced into sex work. New victims from Queens, New York and Paterson, New Jersey were reportedly brought to the brothel weekly to perform sexual acts under violent and restrictive conditions. Prosecutors allege the operation also involved drug distribution, with police seizing methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana and over $50,000 in cash from the brothel and Luna’s apartment.

Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin emphasized the state’s commitment to combating human trafficking and encouraged the public to report suspected cases to the confidential hotline at 855-END-NJ-HT. “There is no tolerance for the exploitation of anyone, especially in this dehumanizing way,” Platkin said during a news conference.

The indictment represents a significant step in the state’s efforts to dismantle human trafficking networks and bring justice to victims, officials said, highlighting the ongoing work of the Division of Criminal Justice’s Human Trafficking Unit.

Two suspected human trafficking operations exposed the brutal reality of human exploitation involving minors in Essex County and the coercion of women in Cumberland County as New Jersey intensified