Undercover Sting at Northport Hotel Yields 6 Solicitation Arrests
Investigators dedicated to reducing human trafficking in our area made six arrests last week during an undercover operation at a Northport hotel.
The West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force is made up of investigators from the Tuscaloosa Police Department, Northport Police Department, Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office and the University of Alabama Police Department.
Their investigators conduct periodic stings to target and arrest 'johns,' the customers who seek out and pay for prostitutes who are often the victims of sex trafficking.
Court documents show and a police spokesperson confirmed that WAHTTF agents worked an undercover operation at a hotel in Northport last weekend to draw out men allegedly responding to an ad for commercial sex.
The operation yielded six arrests for soliciting prostitution, which is a Class A misdemeanor in Alabama.
Those arrested were
- Caleb Frierson, 39, of Duncanville
- John Norris III, 41, of Northport
- Marlon Powell, 32, of Demopolis
- Armani Sowell, 21, of Tuscaloosa
- Elias Velasquez, 24, Tuscaloosa
- Aaron Sweeney, 39, of Northport
A spokesperson for the WAHTFF said the operation was the result of collaboration between Tuscaloosa Fire Rescue, the nonprofit organization Trafficking Hope, the Tuscaloosa Police Department's Cybercrimes Division.
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