MEDLEY, Fla. – Undercover investigators used ListCrawler, a free adult ad site, to search for human trafficking victims. There was a sad case at the South River Suites in Medley, police said.
Detectives reported Jose Navarro was so manipulative that the foreign national he was trafficking defended him, declined help, and said she was “in a relationship” with him.
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According to arrest reports, the 24-year-old woman said she would rather get arrested than turn on Navarro. She was at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on Wednesday night.
Federal, state, and local law enforcement worked together to find the victim. After identifying a suspicious ad, an undercover officer sent a message to a number with a Phoenix area code.
Navarro was driving a black Toyota with a Florida tag when he arrived with the woman at the hotel at 12484 NW South River Drive. She told the undercover officer sex was $300 an hour.
The woman was facing a charge of engaging in prostitution. Navarro was facing charges of deriving support from proceeds of prostitution and directing another to a place of prostitution.
Miami-Dade inmate records show both had a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold.
To report suspected human trafficking activity, call the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office Human Trafficking Unit at 786-775-5270 or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888