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SALT LAKE CITY — A three-day sting operation in Utah County led to the arrests of 26 people, officials said Monday.
Between Nov. 19-21, Operation Underground Railroad, a nonprofit organization that fights human trafficking, teamed up with several law enforcement agencies, including the Utah County Sheriff’s Special Victims Unit, Lehi City Police Department, and the Department of Homeland Security, to conduct a human trafficking operation in Lehi, Utah County Sheriff’s Sgt. Spencer Cannon said in a news release.
During the operation, law enforcement officials arrested 26 people involved in human trafficking, Cannon said.
“Several of these arrests involved individuals that arrived at the location with the intent to have sexual relations with children under the age of 18,” Cannon said in the news release.
One of the individuals arrested, Shane Smith, 26, was arrested for investigation of enticement of a minor over the internet and attempted aggravated kidnapping of a minor, according to Cannon. Three other individuals arrested in the operation were also arrested for investigation of exploiting a prostitute, he added.
Several victims of human trafficking were identified and services are being offered to them, Cannon added.
Unified, Salt Lake City, and Provo police departments also participated in the operation.
“It is important to recognize that these arrests came from a three-day human trafficking sting operation, in one small area, in one county in Utah,” Cannon said.
