HOUSTON – Nine Houston-area nightclubs are getting their alcohol permits pulled on charges of human trafficking and promoting prostitution.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance are going over the details of “Operation Bad Traffic” this morning at 10 a.m.
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We expect to learn which nine nightclubs were a part of “Operation Bad Traffic” and more about the accusations.
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Leaders from the Houston Police Department, Harris County District Attorney’s Office and Harris County Sheriff’s Office are all expected to be there.
Sex trafficking in Harris County
We know from work by the KPRC 2 Investigates team that the Bissonet track is well-known around the country. Houston police cracked down on that track last year by literally shutting down the streets with historically high rates of sex trade activity.
The Department of Justice declared Houston one of the most intense areas for sex trafficking in the entire country, according to the Houston Police Department. The reasons:
- We’re close to the US-Mexico border
- We’ve got a major international airport, seaport and interstates I-10 and I-45
- Our population is expanding
- The labor sector is diverse
- Houston is a popular destination for runaways
The Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance Task Force (HTRA) brings together law enforcement and non-governmental agencies and organizations to combat human trafficking in the Greater Houston Metro area.
There’s a national hotline you can call or text if you or someone you know is being trafficked: 1-888-373-788 or text 233733.
In 2023, that hotline took 2,373 calls from Texas and reported that 583 of them were from victims or survivors of human trafficking. Those numbers include sex trafficking and labor trafficking.
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Multiple suspects in ‘the pimp game’ accused of trafficking young girls on infamous Bissonnet Track