The Department of Homeland Security announced on July 29, 2026, that ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), working with the DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking and federal, state, and local partners, arrested 905 suspects and rescued 180 victims during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
This enforcement focused on host cities across the country as millions of fans gathered for various tournaments leading up to and including the World Cup.
Of those rescued, 150 were adults and 30 were juveniles.
Officials noted that major sporting events often attract criminal networks exploiting tourism and demand for commercial sex.
Investigators used undercover work, surveillance, and online monitoring to disrupt these enterprises, while victims received medical care, shelter, and counseling.
In one key case under Operation Midnight at Paris, HSI agents on July 24 executed eight federal arrest warrants tied to the Paris Adult Bookstore in Dallas.
The eight suspects are:
- Montre Lamont Mason, also known as “Trey” or “Unc”
- Eileen Mason, also known as “Mama” or “Ma”
- Trelynn Love Mason, also known as “NuNu”
- Aaron Tyrone Betford
- Larry Jones, also known as “Big Guy”
- Krishenda Doss
- Reginald Rose
- Antonio Dario Osorio-Avelar
According to multiple reports, this business operated as a covert brothel for more than twenty years. The probe, launched three years ago, uncovered that thousands of adults and minors were sold for sex through the establishment, with dozens of victims identified.
One victim, U.S. Army veteran Caleigha Zangari, was murdered in 2024 after being kidnapped from the bookstore’s parking lot; a defendant in that related case was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
The eight suspects face charges including conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, sex trafficking through force, fraud, and coercion, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.
In another operation on June 23, HSI San Francisco, working with the FBI and San Francisco Police Department, rescued two female minor victims of human trafficking. One of them had been reported missing from Bakersfield, California, since November 2025.
In the Atlanta area, Operation Red Card, a six-week multi-agency effort led by HSI Atlanta, produced 153 arrests, 13 for human trafficking, 11 for child exploitation, and 129 for related offenses, and identified 54 trafficking victims, 27 of whom accepted support services.
In South Florida, authorities conducted 28 undercover operations during matches in Miami, resulting in 178 arrests, 23 for human trafficking and about 39 for soliciting sex, and the identification of 17 potential trafficking victims, some of whom had been brought from other states specifically for the event.
In the New York metropolitan area, efforts linked to matches at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey helped rescue 43 victims, including seven minors; the NYPD alone reported 89 arrests and support for dozens of survivors.
DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis credited the work of agents:
“While Americans and international visitors were enjoying the FIFA World Cup, the men and women of ICE law enforcement were hard at work cracking down on human trafficking operations in FIFA host cities across the country. Federal law enforcement arrested more than 900 suspects and rescued nearly 200 victims. Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, we are dismantling human trafficking networks.”
More than 700 unauthorized drones were seized, over 50 air missions were conducted, more than 19,000 vehicles were inspected, and hundreds of thousands of counterfeit World Cup items valued at over $33 million were confiscated.
Intellectual property enforcement by HSI resulted in 48 arrests and 164 seizures of counterfeit FIFA World Cup merchandise, including more than 530,000 items with a genuine retail value exceeding $85 million.
Victims identified during the operations were connected to crisis intervention, shelter, medical care, and longer-term support services. FBI-led operations during the same period (June 8–July 19) reported seizing approximately $220,000 in cash and assets linked to trafficking networks.
