An FBI task force in New York is working on child exploitation cases where traffickers are advertising that victims will wear masks and gloves to potentially curb the possibility of passing the coronavirus. “If you put yourself in the minds of people advertising people for sex, it’s more about making money than ethics. They do whatever it will take to make that money,” FBI special agent Brian Gander said. 

When a mother reported her daughter missing, she also told police that she thought her daughter may be with a pimp. A Las Vegas investigator found an online ad for the girl and was able to locate her. When the police made contact with her, she told them she made money through sex acts and gave it to her trafficker. The trafficker was arrested and charged with sex trafficking-related offenses. 

A couple from South Carolina has been arrested and charged with sex-trafficking related offenses. They allegedly trafficked and exploited at least two children. 

During the month of March, international authorities throughout Southeast Asia arrested 180 human trafficking suspects and freed 130 human trafficking survivors. “The COVID-19 pandemic will not stop terrorist and organized crime groups from pursuing their activities, which means law enforcement operations must, and do, continue,” said Interpol counter-terrorism official Karel Pelán.