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Speaker 1: Crime Alard hourly update breaking crime news Now. I'm Nicole

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Speaker 1: Parton and Alabama federal authorities are investigating whether a suspected

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Speaker 1: child sex trafficking operation in Bibb County involving victims as

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Speaker 1: young as three, is connected to a violent gang with

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Speaker 1: origins in southern California that has ties to the Mexican mafia.

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Speaker 1: The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed that one of

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Speaker 1: the eight people arrested, andre Velsquez, is affiliated with the

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Speaker 1: Serenos gang and is alleged to have been involved in

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Speaker 1: the exploitation of children for sexual purposes in a scheme

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Speaker 1: that went unnoticed for years. Assistant Special Agent in Charge

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Speaker 1: John Clayton of the Drug Enforcement Administration, who is not

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Speaker 1: directly involved in the bib County investigation, commented on the

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Speaker 1: notorious reputation of the Serenos Gang. They engage in drug trafficking,

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Speaker 1: human trafficking, and various other crimes. They are known for

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Speaker 1: their extreme violence, he said. Clayton recounted his experience with

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Speaker 1: the Serenos, saying in cases involving their members, any indication

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Speaker 1: that a witness might cooperate has resulted in severe death, decapitation,

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Speaker 1: or other he asserted, there are no limits to their

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Speaker 1: actions and that's a grim reality. According to the latest

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Speaker 1: nationwide evaluation of gang activities, Sereno gangs are the fastest

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Speaker 1: expanding criminal organization in the United States. Clayton explained that

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Speaker 1: they maintain connections with Mexican cartels and play as significant

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Speaker 1: role in drug distribution and sex trafficking networks. Members of

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Speaker 1: these gangs often display their affiliation through tattoos and graffiti

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Speaker 1: marking their claimed territories. Clayton noted that gangs are driven

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Speaker 1: by profit and have multiple revenue streams. If human trafficking

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Speaker 1: proves to be more lucrative, they will allocate more resources

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Speaker 1: to that than the drugs. Federal studies indicate a growing

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Speaker 1: involvement of gangs in human trafficking due to its high

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Speaker 1: profitability and low likelihood of detection. Research from the National

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Speaker 1: Gang Center reveals that gangs like the Serinos views sex

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Speaker 1: trafficking victims as expendable assets, easily replaceable, and the effort

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Speaker 1: required for sex trafficking is significantly less than for drug trafficking.

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Speaker 1: Bibb County Sheriff Jody Wade suspects that Velasquez and other

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Speaker 1: suspects have been operating this child sex trafficking ring since

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Speaker 1: at least twenty twenty two. He said, in part, at

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Speaker 1: times that children were found tied up either to a pole,

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Speaker 1: a bed, or a chair in a makeshift shelter a

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Speaker 1: bunker near Brent, Alabama. Sheriff Wade detailed the incident, describing

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Speaker 1: horrific conditions the children face. He mentioned there were instances

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Speaker 1: where multiple individuals would come by to exploit these children

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Speaker 1: on a nightly basis, while a judge has impost used

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Speaker 1: a gag order on the case, limiting what can be

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Speaker 1: disclosed outside of court. Sheriff Wade previously informed WBrC that

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Speaker 1: federal investigators are tracing financial transactions to determine if they

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Speaker 1: can link this to the Sorrentos gang. I've been in

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Speaker 1: law enforcement for thirty three years, he remarked, and this is,

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Speaker 1: without a doubt, the most horrific instance of child victimization

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Speaker 1: I have ever encountered. More crime and justice news after

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Speaker 1: this and now to North Carolina, A family is desperate

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Speaker 1: for answers. On October thirty one, sixteen year old Louis Terrero,

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Speaker 1: a student at Ashbrook High School, told his parents that

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Speaker 1: he was going to visit a friend. He was supposed

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Speaker 1: to be back around six thirty pm. He never came home.

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Speaker 1: When they checked his room, his parents and siblings found

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Speaker 1: letters with their names on them with details inside. They

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Speaker 1: believe now that their son Lewis is in danger. His

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Speaker 1: father explains more so, my.

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Speaker 2: Son Luiscario, who is sixteen years old, about six feet

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Speaker 2: tall Hispanic mail. He was headed to a friend's house

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Speaker 2: here in Gastonia at about three thirty pm. He left.

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Speaker 2: He said he'd be back by six thirty pm. No

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Speaker 2: later that time, came and went and he never came

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Speaker 2: back home. We later found out that he had left

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Speaker 2: some notes that he was basically running away from home

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Speaker 2: and in those letters it stated of his mental health

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Speaker 2: issues that he's dealing with.

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Speaker 1: We have a.

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Speaker 2: Contacted authorities DAVIN on it since Friday. We're on our

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Speaker 2: fourth day now of looking for him and we need

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Speaker 2: all the help from the community around Gastonia, Charlotte and

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Speaker 2: surrounding counties and states to help us in finding him.

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Speaker 1: Gastonia Police as anyone who's rotts Lewis to call the

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Speaker 1: police department immediately seven zero four eight sixty six six

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Speaker 1: seven zero two for the latest crime injustice news. Follow

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Speaker 1: Crime Alert hourly update on your favorite podcasting app with

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Speaker 1: this crime Alert. I'm Nikol Parton