An operation into human trafficking that included 11 Orange County law enforcement agencies led to 56 arrests and the rescue of 16 victims just before Super Bowl Sunday, authorities announced Friday, Feb. 18.

Deemed “Operation Red Zone,” agencies conducted investigative techniques – undercover operations, investigating online-based sex solicitation websites and investigations into known problematic businesses – to find and arrest the men, ages 20 to 55, officials with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said.

The arrests were made from Feb. 9 through Feb. 12, officials said in a Friday statement. The operation was planned for that time because authorities were anticipating more activity during Super Bowl week.

“Proactive investigations like this allow law enforcement agencies to contact vulnerable victims of sex trafficking who might have otherwise never been able to escape their traffickers” and provide them with services “that can help them heal,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement

Of the 16 victims rescued, two were minors younger than 16, officials said. The adult victims were connected with services through Waymakers, an assistance program that provides crisis intervention and helps victims find emergency shelter, transportation and necessities such as food and clothing, while the two minors were connected to services with the Orange County Social Services Agency.

Barnes, in a phone interview Friday, said the operation had been in planning for about a year before the Super Bowl came to Los Angeles, with tactical planning about four months ago.

Ultimately, officers set up meets with either the victims or the perpetrators at various types of locations, which led to the arrests, Barnes said.

“That was just the final domino to tip to make the physical contact…to lure them out,” Barnes said.

Each city agency deployed techniques it felt would produce the best results, Barnes said.

The suspects could face human trafficking, pimping and pandering, solicitation for sex and narcotics charges, officials said. Some could face misdemeanor charges with a possible year sentence, while others could face more serious felony charges.

The operation also involved the Department of Homeland Security, officials said. The operation was coordinated by the Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center, formed in 2007 for information sharing between federal, state and local agencies.

Barnes said most of the victims of human trafficking get lured by people through the internet.

“As a precautionary measure, parents should make sure they know what (they’re kids) are doing on the internet and who they’re talking to,” he said. “Always stay involved.”

The announcement of the arrests follows another earlier this week by Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva regarding an unrelated, statewide effort called “Operation Reclaim and Rebuild,” in which nearly 500 prostitution-related arrests were made during Super Bowl week.

That operation led to the identification of seven more victims and the arrest of 19 suspects in Orange County, LASD officials said.

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