NJ Authorities Rescue 15 Victims in Multi-County Human Trafficking Ring

Now, you might think I tend to crack on my home state quite a bit here, but it’s not really New Jersey I’m crackin’ on, but the crackheads running it into the ground.

I love New Jersey with all my heart and would move back IN a heartbeat if it wasn’t, like…NEW JERSEY.

You can sense my torn loyalties.

So when something goes right, I want to celebrate it, and that’s exactly what happened the other day. Brother Bingley sent me this horrific news story, but in a bit of a twist, it had a happy ending, so I wanted to share.

And the happy ending was all due to the hard work of the combined forces of the New Jersey State Attorney General Platkin, the Division of Criminal Justice’s trafficking detectives and their law enforcement partners: New Jersey State Police, Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, Mercer County Sheriff’s Office, Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, Hamilton Township Police Department, Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, Perth Amboy Police Department, Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, Camden County Sheriff’s Office, Trenton Police Department, as well as the victim services provider Covenant House.

It all started with some sharp-eyed detective work – literally like a really long Law and Order episode.

…In May 2024, investigators uncovered a business card that identified three Trenton locations – on Ashmore Avenue, Roebling Avenue, and Elmer Street — where human trafficking was allegedly taking place. The card advertised barber shops, but none of the locations were tied to any actual businesses. Law enforcement officers identified an automobile that belonged to Miranda-Gomez that was frequently at those locations.

Law enforcement officers later uncovered a second business card containing the three locations already provided and one additional Trenton location on Genesee Street. This business card advertised a plumbing business. Investigation revealed that the “inspectors,” Miranda-Gomez and Macariosut, were allegedly observed at all four Trenton locations, as well as the location in Camden. Inside these houses, men would pay $50 for 15 minutes of sex; the woman would keep $25.

Routinely, Miranda-Gomez, Soledad Xec Chan, and Macariosut were seen visiting the five locations. They would bring in paper towels, cases of water and other items. Law enforcement officers allege they brought supplies and picked up cash from each location. In each house, multiple men were seen going in and staying for 15 to 20 minutes several times a day, including when the couriers were present.

The ‘business cards’ were actually a connection to a ‘pick your prostitute’ app. How fiendish.

…The business cards appeared to promote local services but instead, connected callers to a messaging app which offered details about women, including their ages, locations, and countries of origin.

“I want you to think about that for a moment,” Platkin said. “We are talking about human beings, women, being treated as property, indistinguishable from a car service or renting an automobile.”

After staking out the locations for a number of months and tying the women involved to them, they executed search warrants simultaneously at all five locations this past June.

What they found was just horrible. Fifteen women were being held as virtual prisoners. Fourteen of them had been lured there through false pretenses of work and then barred from leaving, with threats to their families in some cases keeping them compliant.

…During the coordinated raids, investigators uncovered evidence of commercial sex activity and rescued 15 women, ranging in age from 21 to 58.

According to Theresa Hilton, Director of the Division of Criminal Justice, the alleged ringleaders are Vilma Deleon Bracamonte, 55, of Hamilton, and Maria Soledad Xec Chan, 42, of Trenton.

Hilton said the two lured women to the brothels under false pretenses, promising jobs cleaning homes or working in restaurants.

Once inside, some victims were allegedly told they had to perform sex acts before they could leave. One woman said she was threatened with harm to her family if she refused, officials said.

They don’t have to worry about that anymore, thanks to the great work by Platkin and his team.

The ringleaders and henchmen have been charged with first-degree racketeering and human trafficking. So far.

…Vilma Deleon Bracamonte, aka “Janet,” 55, of Hamilton, New Jersey, and Maria Soledad Xec Chan, 42, of Trenton, are allegedly the leaders of the trafficking network, who would lure victims to the houses. Santiago Miranda-Gomez, 30, and Francisco Macariosut, 50, both of Trenton, are alleged “inspectors” for the enterprise, picking up money twice a day from the houses and making sure they functioned through intimidation of the victims and the “house managers.”

The house managers – Abel Aguilera-Ronquillo, 27, Julio C. Delgado-Belmeo, 27, both of Trenton, and Flavio R. Navarrete-Reyes, 45, and Wilmer E. Pinargote-Chimbiligua, 29, both of Camden, were in charge of the day-to-day operations of the brothels.

All members of this trafficking network are charged with first-degree racketeering, first-degree human trafficking, and other crimes. Bracamonte and Chan face additional charges for their role as leaders. (See chart)

As it’s New Jersey, I can’t find a word one about anyone’s immigration status, but that’s not surprising.

Kudos to the law enforcement officers on this case for their thorough investigation, nailing the bad guys, and saving lives. 

They all did a really terrific job.