WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Law enforcement officials say they are intensifying their efforts to track down human traffickers and their victims. The push is on to make the public aware of human trafficking and what to look out for, how to take action, and possibly save lives.
"'I'll kill you, or parents!' What does a 12, 13, 14-year-old girl do? She reacts with her heart, and she will do anything for this guy, and you know how he further owns her? He then starts giving her drugs," Wyoming County District Attorney Joe Peters told 28/22 News.
Peters talked about how human traffickers control their victims, many of them young girls.
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28/22 New I-Team Reporter Andy Mehalshick interviewed Peters for a podcast on the 28/22 News Live CTV App.
Peters is a driving force behind efforts to stop human trafficking.
"You see, human trafficking is a heinous crime, and is also the confluence between not only the trafficking and sex, but drugs, guns, gangs, money laundering. It's all right here. All behind the curtain," Peters continued.
Peters helped form the Human Trafficking Task Force, which brings together federal, state, and local law enforcement.
"Human trafficking is an issue everywhere. You mentioned the word 'hidden.' Which is so key to this, because whether you consider it a crime in plain sight or whether it's a crime in the darkness hidden in the darkness, it exists everywhere," Peters added.
That's why he says efforts like the Red Sand Project in Scranton recently, which symbolizes the victims of human trafficking falling through the cracks, are so important.
"Our challenge in law enforcement and beyond is awareness and education first. We in law enforcement know the crime exists, but the public doesn't," said Peters.
Mehalshick's hour-long interview with Peters will be posted on the 28/22 News Live CTV App in the coming days.
