On the Job 

For six days in the fall, law enforcement officials swept across every corner of the state, urban and rural, in a coordinated crackdown on human trafficking.

Operation Buyer’s Remorse, which ran from Sept. 25 through Sept. 30, marked the fourth time in four years that law enforcement agencies statewide have collaborated in a massive sting to bring traffickers and johns to justice.

This year’s operation was led by eight human trafficking task forces supported by the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission (OOCIC), an arm of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. The effort involved more than 70 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies as well as numerous county prosecutors, and it resulted in 160 arrests on sex, drug and weapon charges. In addition, dozens of social service agencies and victim advocacy organizations offered health care and other resources to victims.

“I am grateful for every partner who dedicated time and resources to this team effort, as we all play a key role,” said Attorney General Dave Yost, who started the annual statewide crackdowns in 2020.
Operation Buyer’s Remorse was designed to apprehend bad actors, yes, but it also was focused on freeing vulnerable victims.

“We’re not only arresting customers, we’re rescuing people out of this situation,” said Belpre Police Chief Mike Stump, whose agency assisted in Operation Buyer’s Remorse as part of the Southeast Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force. “Many of these people do not speak English. This puts them in bondage.”

After receiving tips about a local massage business, Belpre police notified the task force. During the statewide sting, task force members executed a search warrant, taking into custody the only employee present at the time — a Chinese woman who didn’t speak English.

“Once we got a translator, it became clear she didn’t know where she was — even what state she was in — or what was going on,” Chief Stump said. “All of which suggests she was a victim as much as anything.”

The woman, who said she was earning money to support three children in Hunan, China, was released to the care of social service agencies, said task force director Lt. Spencer McPeek of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. She was not charged. The circumstances that brought her to Belpre, a small Ohio River town across from Parkersburg, W.Va., have not been determined.

Eliminating sex and labor trafficking has been a priority for AG Yost. Early in his administration, he authorized the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission (OOCIC) to help form additional multi-agency task forces and strongly supported regional and statewide crackdowns.

In addition, he created the Human Trafficking Initiative (HTI), which, among many other initiatives, works to strengthen services for survivors and identify next steps for them. To that end, the social service agencies involved in Operation Buyer’s Remorse provided support to 104 victims.

Human trafficking victims are vulnerable to exploitation. Perhaps they’ve battled drugs or been abused. Maybe they’ve run away from home. In desperation, they turn to someone they think they can trust and become trapped.
Victims are adults and children, male and female, of all backgrounds and races. And although headlines about human trafficking tend to predominate in urban areas, no area of the state is immune.

“This was huge news for Belpre,” Chief Stump said. “We’re a town of 6,500 people, and to have this kind of business set up shop was a shock to a lot of people. But it just goes to show that human trafficking can happen anywhere.”