The Exodus Road’s team in the Philippines worked closely alongside law enforcement to gather information about a street pimp who was selling sexual services under the guise of massages.
As they investigated, they learned that the suspect was keeping all of the women he was trafficking in an apartment, limiting where they went and who they saw. He would force them to meet customers at motels.
The team of investigators knew that if they simply set up a meeting at a motel, they would only be able to liberate the few girls sent to that location. So police and investigators staked out both a motel and the apartment where the rest of the women and girls were staying. The two groups coordinated closely.
First, police raided the motel. Three trafficking victims had been sent to meet them, and all of them were freed. The team at the apartment was then given the go-ahead to enter. When they did, they found 7 additional women and girls inside. In total that day, 10 survivors were set free!
The investigative methods that The Exodus Road employs in collaboration with law enforcement allow them to anticipate how raids like this will play out. However, there are always factors outside of anyone’s control. In this case, the trafficker unexpectedly left the apartment shortly before the raid began. He also left the phone he had been using to talk to potential customers with one of the women he was trafficking. Police were unable to find and arrest him that day.
But because of the information gathered in the course of the investigation and raid, law enforcement and The Exodus Road’s team have a starting place for continuing their pursuit of this trafficker. In the meantime, they are celebrating the successful restoration of these 10 precious survivors, who are all receiving government aftercare services.
The Exodus Road’s team is able to continually practice and refine their cutting-edge investigative tactics because of your faithful support of their work. Thank you for making freedom possible!
