A human trafficking sting operation at Comic-Con in San Diego, California earlier this week resulted in the arrest of fourteen suspects and uncovered ten potential victims. Between July 25 and 27, undercover officers infiltrated the popular convention and tracked down the would-be traffickers and victims by posing as potential sex buyers and sellers.

Neither the names of those allegedly involved in the criminal operation, nor those who suffered as a result of it, have not been publicly revealed, though it was noted that one of the victims was only 16.

According to a press release issued by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, the investigation was undertaken by the California Department of Justice's San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force. Upon apprehending the suspects and and locating victims, authorities arrested the former and provided the latter with Child Welfare Services and adult and juvenile support service advocates.

"Unfortunately, sex traffickers capitalize on large scale events such as Comic-Con to exploit their victims for profit," Bonta said. "These arrests send a clear message to potential offenders that their criminal behavior will not be tolerated. We are grateful to all our dedicated partners involved in the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force, whose collaboration has been invaluable. We take great pride in our office's commitment to uplifting vulnerable Californians by offering them assistance and guidance when they need it most."

His sentiments were shared by Christopher Davis, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations San Diego. He noted that while "highly attended events like these allow us to showcase our growing and beautiful city, ... when people use these events as an opportunity to prey upon minors, HSI and our law enforcement partners will find you and bring you before a court of law to face criminal charges." He made it clear that "there is no place for alleged predators to operate in our city and HSI is committed to helping the victims of these crimes."