Northern California human trafficking task force rescues 53 survivors during World Cup games
Bay Area human trafficking task force rescues 53 survivors during World Cup games
A multi-agency task force comprising 70 different law enforcement entities coordinated to identify and rescue survivors, and arrest traffickers.
OAKLAND, Calif. - While fans from around the world were coming together to support their teams during the World Cup, multiple Bay Area law enforcement agencies were coming together to identify and rescue survivors of human trafficking, and to arrest offenders.
The Santa Clara County Human Trafficking Task Force announced on Friday that, in partnership with the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center, during the course of the games, officers rescued 53 survivors, including 11 children, and arrested 25 offenders.
Officials say this is a crime that's prevalent with or without major sporting events.
"Similar to the Super Bowl, we didn't believe that sporting events themselves would be creating additional human trafficking," Lieutenant Josh Singleton of the Santa Clara County Human Trafficking Task Force said. "It's the economics that drive exploitation."
Those economics saw an average ticket price for a local World Cup game range from $600 to near $20,000 per ticket. Officials with the Human Trafficking Task Force, which was established 12 years ago, say investigators cast a wide net using online accounts and undercover agents to conduct 66 separate operations.
"We had over 70 different law enforcement agencies, over 50 different analysts form different organizations all working together to provide real-time information sharing to ensure that we were sharing that information to go out and locate those victims as quickly as possible," Singleton said.
25 suspects arrested
What they're saying:
Of those individuals rescued, 42 were adults, and 11 were children. In addition to the 25 suspected traffickers who were arrested, officials cited 41 sex buyers.
"We are proud that Santa Clara County showcased itself to the world so well and so safely, and with one voice declared our intolerance for the illegal trafficking of human beings," District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a press release. "We are standing with the survivors and providing them support and services so that they can go on to live a life free of cruel criminal exploitation."
Survivors received support from multiple advocacy groups, including the Golden Gate-Silicon Valley YWCA.
"Individuals who lack a support system may be more prone to being taken advantage of, or having people take control over them," Lindsey Mansfield, the Golden Gate-Silicon Valley YWCA's Director said. "YWCA was able to assist survivors with basic needs including things like emergency transportation, emergency housing, food, clothing."
The FBI's San Francisco field office released a statement following the conclusion of the operation:
"Human trafficking enforcement operations… accelerated enforcement efforts throughout the San Francisco Bay Area during the FIFA World Cup 2026, targeting human trafficking networks," the statement reads. "Although the final whistle has blown… lessons learned during the… World Cup… will continue to enhance the FBI's ability to protect future large-scale events."
Human trafficking operation
Dig deeper:
The World Cup operation brought together nearly 70 law enforcement agencies from Sacramento to Monterey. A regional headquarters in Santa Clara included more than 50 analysts representing local, state and federal agencies.
The different entities collaborated to evaluate and develop actionable intelligence in real time, and worked with field personnel to support investigations, locate survivors, identify suspected traffickers and coordinate law enforcement across multiple jurisdictions.
The operation built on a collaborative effort that was last activated during Super Bowl LX, which was also held at Levi’s Stadium. During that operation, participating agencies arrested 29 traffickers and identified 73 survivors, including 10 minors.
"Trafficking occurs day in and day out, regardless of any sporting event or any event that comes to our region," Singleton said.
A majority of the arrested individuals were local to the Bay Area but some did come to the region because of the World Cup.
If you know someone who may need help, you can call the toll-free YWVCA emergency lipline at 800-572-2782.
The Source: Santa Clara County Human Trafficking Task Force