MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Berkeley County Sheriff Nathan Harmon is praising his deputies after they rescued two victims of human trafficking and arrested the driver on trafficking and drug charges.
It happened on I-81 when a minivan was stopped for a traffic violation in Berkeley County. Deputies report the driver’s statements were inconsistent with those of the passengers in the van during the stop.
Sheriff Harmon said an investigation revealed the occupants were undocumented and were victims of human trafficking.
The sheriff says the driver was identified as the facilitator of human trafficking and now faces charges including the human trafficking of a juvenile, the human trafficking of an adult, and transporting a controlled substance into the state.
Nearly $13,000 in US currency was seized during the arrest.
Harmon says victims often pay thousands of dollars to handlers and are promised to be taken to a location, “get legalized and live their dream” but instead see their money taken and are prostituted out or forced to work as laborers.