Four men were arrested following an undercover sting operation targeting child sexual exploitation in Miami-Dade County, as part of a concerted law enforcement initiative conducted ahead of the FIFA World Cup.
Melvin Phillip Putney, 47, Henry Eduardo Castillo Martinez, 20, John Alcin, 30, and Ibrahim Vazquez Cobas, 54, were all detained on Tuesday and charged with human trafficking of a minor for commercial sexual conduct, travel to see a minor, and banned internet use.
All four are being detained without a bond. Martinez and Alcin are also being held under Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer.
According to the police, undercover investigators placed adverts online and waited for responses. Each of the four males made contact online, negotiated a price, and agreed to pay $150 to $200 for sexual acts with people they believed to be children aged 14 to 15.
When they arrived at the unidentified sites, officials reported that tactical squads were waiting behind locked doors. Detectives then validated each suspect’s identification by dialing a test call to the phone number used in the communications and watching the phone in each man’s hands ring. They were then brought into custody.
The operation was carried out by a multi-agency task force that included the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office Human Trafficking Task Force, the Miami Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children unit, Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Secret Service, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
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