Formula One is one of several big events that bring large crowds to Austin. But something illegal often follows those crowds. It’s called human trafficking.
“It’s about coercive control,” says Wende Hilsenrod. She’s the human trafficking specialist for TAASA (Texas Association Against Sexual Assault). She describes it as modern day slavery.
“You know that if you don’t do what I ask you to do, the consequences are going to be dire. I may have just broken your jaw yesterday,” she said, explaining a common scenario.
Whether it’s forced sex or forced labor, the trafficker follows the money. This weekend it may be Austin. Next week it could be Vegas.
————————
Updated: Sunday, October 19 2014, 07:01 PM CDTBorder Patrol agents in Falfurrias discovered five people and more than 500 lbs. of marijuana being transported inside a U-Haul. Saturday agents stopped the vehicle and did a primary K9 search which turned up five subjects, four of which were in a cardboard box and one which was in a washing machine.There was also a seizure of eight bundles of pot estimated at $446,208.00 that was tossed away in the brush. Border patrol agents searched the five subjects but did not find any illegal substances on them. The stop occurred because border patrol agents saw the subjects walking north from the Rio Grande river area towards a major Texas highway. The driver of the U-Haul as well as his female accomplice were taken into custody.Huge Drug And Human Trafficking Bust In Texas Huge Drug And Human Trafficking Bust In Texas – keyetv.com Austin News, Weather, Traffic KEYE-TV Austin – Top Stories