Human trafficking bust at San Diego Comic-Con: Undercovers officers rescue ten victims including 16-year-old, 14 arrested

Undercover officers

at

San Diego

's

Comic-Con

last week rescued

human trafficking victims

, including a 16-year-old girl, and

arrested

14 people attempting to buy sex. The operation involved local police, federal officers, and naval intelligence.
Authorities reported rescuing ten victims, nine of whom were adults. Attorney General Rob Bonta highlighted that "

sex traffickers

capitalize on large scale events such as Comic-Con to exploit their victims for profit."
San Diego Comic-Con, one of the largest pop culture events worldwide, reportedly attracted around 135,000 attendees during its four-day run from Thursday to Sunday.

A spokesperson for Comic-Con told AFP, "Obviously we find this very disturbing and, while we were not made aware of this operation, it is our understanding that the arrests were made outside of the event." They added, "We work closely with a variety of law enforcement entities throughout the year and stand ready to assist in any way we can."
Christopher Davis, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in San Diego, noted that criminals often view "highly attended events" like Comic-Con as "an opportunity to prey upon minors."
Meanwhile, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl added, "Working together, teams identified and arrested more than a dozen individuals participating in these illegal acts in our city over the weekend."