Authorities arrest 10 people accused of facilitating sex trafficking in Los Angeles | Los Angeles
Ten people accused of facilitating a sex trafficking operation targeting approximately 51 underage girls and women have been arrested, according to a news release Wednesday, as California authorities conduct their latest crackdown on human trafficking in the Figueroa corridor in Los Angeles.
prosecutors in question It was reported Wednesday that members and associates of the South Los Angeles-based gang Hoovers posed as pimps and recruited underage children and women, some of whom were runaways or foster children, between February 2021 and June 2026, with the “false promise” of a better life or violence in sex work.
One of the men charged, 23-year-old Cameron Lockett, allegedly beat a victim and bit off a piece of her cheek in November 2024. Authorities say Lockett sent him to a hospital for treatment and pressured him to lie to officers about the injuries.
According to authorities, in July 2025, 26-year-old Caleed Mouton arranged an abortion for an underage girl, another trafficking victim, and ordered her to engage in sex work the same day.
Stadium Inn & Spas manager Mukeshkumar Ahir was also accused of pocketing more than $64,000 from the alleged sex trafficking operation. Ahir, 45, is alleged to have reserved rooms for illegal activity.
“We hope today’s arrests break the cycle of crime and abuse in one of Los Angeles’ most notorious human trafficking corridors,” chief assistant U.S. attorney Bill Essayli said in a press release.
“We are dismantling criminal enterprises that profit from human trafficking, rescuing victims, and taking back the Figueroa corridor for a community that has always deserved better,” said Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell.
If convicted, the individuals face 15 years to life in prison.
The corridor, a roughly 4-kilometer stretch running north to south, is a frequent target of law enforcement due to repeated sex trafficking.
Last yearEleven more people affiliated with the Hoover gang have been charged with sex trafficking crimes, including a 25-year-old woman named Amaya Armstead, described as the gang’s “de facto leader.” Their trials are scheduled to begin next March.
Budget cuts in 2021 have depleted the LAPD’s resources to fight human trafficking. based on To the New York Times. According to media reports, police officers’ ability to apprehend trafficked minors has also been hampered by the repeal of a bill that had previously allowed police to arrest individuals wandering for sex work (proponents of the repeal, including state senator and congressional candidate Scott Wiener, said it enabled discriminatory behavior against people of color and transgender communities).
