Alleged leader of international prostitution ring arrested, authorities say
Afugitive wanted for allegedly leading an international human trafficking and prostitution ring who evaded capture for over a year was arrested Tuesday at Newark Liberty International Airport, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced Wednesday.
The woman, Birmania Rincon, 62, formerly of Teaneck, was identified as a suspect as part of an investigation, dubbed Operation Hope In Darkness, into a human trafficking, prostitution, and money laundering organization that operated in throughout Bergen County, other parts of northern New Jersey, and in New York since at least 2015, Musella said in a statement. Members of the organization trafficked women throughout Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex, and Passaic Counties, and in Rockland County and Queens County, New York for the purpose of engaging in prostitution, authorities said.
The criminal enterprise allegedly employed drivers to facilitate the money laundering and prostitution offenses and others were identified as managing and/or supervising separate money laundering and prostitution organizations throughout northern New Jersey and in New York, Musella said.
The investigation began in November 2020 and on Feb. 3, 2021, over 100 detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office executed 19 search warrants in Bergen and Hudson counties, and arrested 21 people, according to a statement from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office. However, Rincon was not among those arrested and was believed to be living abroad in Columbia.
On January 12 of this year, Rincon was indicted by a Bergen County Grand Jury and charged with racketeering, two counts of financial facilitation of criminal activity, promotion of organized street crime and promoting prostitution, the office said.
On Tuesday, as Rincon attempted to enter the United States via a flight from Colombia, she was arrested at Newark airport by officers from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, the Port Authority Police Department, and the United States Customs and Border Protection, authorities said.
SAUCE: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/alleged-leader-of-international-prostitution-ring-arrested-authorities-say/ar-AATXW0u