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SALT LAKE CITY — Two brothers of a man authorities say was masterminding a drug and human trafficking ring in Utah involving teenage boys, have been arrested.
Victor A. Rax Chun, 31, and Marcos Tot-Chun, 31, were both arrested by the Utah Attorney General’s SECURE Strike Force investigation team and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail. Victor Chun was arrested for investigation of witness tampering. Marco Tot-Chun was arrested for investigation of two counts of forgery.
The arrests targeted people who "sought to interfere with the investigation and prosecution" of Victor Rax, according to a statement from the Utah Attorney General's Office.
In February, the attorney general's office announced the arrest of Victor Manuel Rax, 42, of Guatemala, who had been living in Utah and allegedly trafficking teen boys for sexual purposes. Officials said he would target mainly undocumented Latinos, and then used fear to force them into sex and drug trafficking. Some boys were forced to engage in sexual activity or sell drugs in their high schools under threat of harm coming to them or their families, according to state investigators.
Rax was living with Chun at 1322 W. 500 South, according to a Salt Lake County Jail report. After Rax's arrest, authorities warned Chun not to speak to any of the witnesses, the report stated.
But in March, investigators recorded a phone call that Rax made to Chun from the Salt Lake County Jail who allegedly told him to, "speak with a witness and tell him not to appear in court," the report stated. When detectives picked up Chun the next day, he told them the witness had been at his house, the jail report stated.
During a search of the residence at 1322 W. 500 South, investigators also seized a Permanent Resident Card and a Social Security card in Tot-Chun's name, according to a jail report. When authorities questioned him about the documents, Tot-Chun said he, "purchased them for $80 from a taco cart when he arrived here years ago," jail records state.
Three boys have been identified as victims of sexual abuse by Rax, according to the attorney general's office. But investigators believe there are many more.
Rax's two brothers were believed to have come to Utah with him over a decade ago, according to the attorney general's office. Rax has reportedly served prison time in Guatemala and been deported from the U.S. seven times.
Rax was charged in 3rd District Court with three counts of drug distribution, which will keep him in custody until charges related to the sex and drug trafficking allegations can be filed, the AG's office stated.
