The Justice Department on Tuesday unsealed a 30-count multi-state sex trafficking indictment charging 11 Venezuelan and Colombian nationals, federal prosecutors said. Ten defendants were arrested during coordinated operations in Ohio, Tennessee, North Carolina and Florida, while one defendant remains at large. The indictment alleges the group trafficked a minor and an adult woman and engaged in related drug and firearms crimes across state lines.
What the multi-state sex trafficking indictment alleges
The 30-count indictment, unsealed June 11, accuses multiple defendants of conspiring between July and August 2025 to sex traffic a minor and an adult woman. The Justice Department’s announcement includes differing references to the victim’s age — describing the alleged victim as 17 in one section while a quoted U.S. Attorney’s statement referenced 14 — and the DOJ release does not reconcile that discrepancy in the record available to reporters.
According to the charging documents and the DOJ announcement, prosecutors allege members of the group placed commercial sex advertisements online, moved victims between jurisdictions and operated a prostitution enterprise in central Ohio. The indictment also includes drug and firearms-related counts tied to the same alleged enterprise.
Arrests, locations and who is charged
Federal authorities said 10 of the 11 defendants were taken into custody during coordinated raids in Ohio, Tennessee, North Carolina and Florida. Ten defendants are described by the Justice Department as currently unlawfully present in the United States; one defendant is listed as residing in Mexico and remains at large.
The DOJ identified the charged individuals as Venezuelan and Colombian nationals. The announcement names the indicted individuals as Jean Pierre Alejandro Guillen Salcedo; Taidin Adreina Ferrer Guillen; Pedro Angel Colls-Flores; Alismar Daniela Contreras-Arevalo; Briyi Daniela Ordonez-Iter; Julian David Patino Pena; John Alexandre Fajardo-Ulzcategui; Jose Ruben Sanchez-Pena; Keivar Elian Guillen Salcedo; Therry Brayant Leon Gavida; and Dervin Alejandro Colmenares Quintero (listed as residing in Mexico).
Six defendants were reported to be living in Ohio (including ties to Hilliard and Columbus), two in Tennessee, and others in North Carolina and Florida. One defendant listed outside the U.S. has not been apprehended.
Alleged drug and firearms trafficking tied to the ring
Prosecutors allege the group also sold ecstasy and trafficked at least nine firearms. Some defendants face charges alleging illegal firearms possession while in the country. The DOJ announcement ties the narcotics distribution and weapons trafficking allegations to the same alleged criminal enterprise accused of promoting prostitution and using online ads to move victims and customers across state lines.
Investigation, task force and federal response
Officials said the investigation was led by a Homeland Security Task Force with involvement from FBI Cincinnati and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit. Prosecutors linked the case to an initiative established under Executive Order 14159 aimed at targeting transnational criminal organizations and violent criminal actors.
U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II was quoted in the DOJ announcement: “These defendants — ten of whom are currently illegally present in this country — allegedly engaged in a panoply of illicit trafficking activity, from drugs to firearms to human beings. We have no tolerance for anybody who commits such crimes in our communities, and we will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”
FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge Jason Cromartie said the agency will continue working to remove narcotics, firearms and violent offenders from communities. HSI Detroit’s acting special agent in charge, Jared Murphey, emphasized the task force’s focus on protecting vulnerable victims from exploitation by transnational criminal groups.
Legal status, open questions and next steps
All charges in an indictment are allegations and remain unproven until the government meets its burden in court. The defendants are entitled to pretrial proceedings, and the case will proceed through the federal judicial process across multiple districts given the interstate nature of the alleged offenses.
Reporters note an unresolved discrepancy in the DOJ release about the alleged minor’s age — the announcement includes both 17 and 14 in separate passages — and the Department’s public release did not reconcile that inconsistency. Fox News Digital said it sought clarification from the Justice Department.
One defendant remains at large; authorities did not provide a timetable for forthcoming court appearances for those in custody. The case is expected to involve coordinated federal hearings and pretrial activity in the districts where charges were brought.
Reporting for this article is based on the Justice Department announcement and the original coverage by Fox News. See the Justice Department press releases page and the Fox News report for source material: Justice Department press releases; Fox News — DOJ says 11 migrants indicted in multi-state sex trafficking, drug, firearms case.
