Image Credit: Busà Photography / Getty 
A family running several motels and “brow and lash” salons were allegedly caught in a human trafficking ring this week near Omaha, Nebraska, with five people being charged for labor trafficking, sex trafficking, drug trafficking and harboring illegal aliens.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska announced Tuesday that the Chaudharis family, immigrants from India, are accused of “deliberately violating U.S. immigration laws to” prey on illegal aliens and use them for profit via child labor or sex work.
United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods listed the following individuals as being arrested in the multi-year operation:
- Kentakumar Chaudhari, a/k/a Ken Chaudhari, age 36, of Elkhorn, NE;
- Rashmi Ajit Samani, a/k/a Falguni Samani, age 42, of Elkhorn, NE;
- Amit Prahladbhai Chaudhari, a/k/a Amit, age 32, of Omaha;
- Amit Babubhai Chaudhari, a/k/a Matt, age 33, of Omaha; and
- Maheshkumar Chaudhari, a/k/a Mahesh, age 38, of Norfolk, NE.
“Also seized as part of the search warrants was $565,000 in cash and jewelry. A representative of U.S. Homeland Security said workers in the country without proper documentation also were detained, though he declined to disclose how many,” reports the Nebraska Examiner.
Victims as young as 12 were rescued during the hotel and salon raids, according to FBI special agent Eugene Kowel.
“Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery,” he said. “This investigation revealed victims right here in the heartland forced into sexual activity, living and working in dangerous and filthy conditions and extorted to work in grueling jobs with little to no pay.”
The DOJ said in a press release, “The United States Attorney’s Office has alleged that one or more of the defendants were engaged in a sex trafficking conspiracy that allegedly victimized both minors and adults. Sex trafficking was not only allowed at the hotels according to complaint affidavit allegations but also encouraged, protected from law enforcement detection, and sex trafficking victims at the hotels were subjected not only to the traditional perpetrators of a sex trafficking scheme but also to hotel management and employees victimizing them as well.”
“Beyond these allegations, multiple defendants are alleged to have maintained these hotels as premises to conduct drug trafficking freely. Drug traffickers allegedly received protection from law enforcement in the same manner in which human traffickers were also shielded by the hotel owners and managers. Overdoses were a common problem, and at least one hotel had to keep Narcan at the front desk as a result. One source cited described a stairwell of one of the hotels as being littered with drug needles. Drug use was open and notorious in the parking lots according to eyewitnesses and to some online guest reviews,” the DOJ added.
11 agencies and around 300 law enforcement officers took part in the FBI-led investigation.
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