Early in the morning of Aug. 12 the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested five people in a human trafficking sting operation called Operation Summer Heat. The arrests—in Norfolk, Bellevue, Elkhorn, and Omaha—were the culmination of a years-long investigation into what the FBI’s Special Agent In Charge, Eugene Kowel, called “rampant criminality,” according to WOWT.

The arrests took place at a number of hotels in and around the Omaha area, targeting their respective owners suspected of a number of crimes, including drug, labor, and sex trafficking conspiracy, visa fraud and misuse, and concealing people from arrest. Also according to WOWT, four of the individuals taken into custody had existing criminal warrants.
According to a news release from the United States Attorney’s Office, 10 minors, some of whom were under the age of 12, as well as 17 adults, were “rescued from labor trafficking” following the successful completion of the stings. According to the FBI, law enforcement received multiple calls about suspected sex trafficking at the locations. Four of the 14 locations at which police executed warrants were in the Omaha metro. According to the Department of Justice, they were The Inn (formerly Super 8), at 9305 S 145th Street, AmericInn at 2920 S 13 Ct., The New Victorian on 10728 L Street (all in Omaha), and Roadway Inn at 1110 Fort Crook Road South in Bellevue.
“Federal, state, and local law enforcement partners worked together today to safely execute search warrants at 14 business premises and two residential locations associated with the defendants. Four of those premises were either hotels or motels, and the remaining businesses were “Brow and Lash” salons located in the Westroads Mall and at other Omaha metro area locations,” the DOJ said in a statement released on the day of the operation. The release noted that sex trafficking at the hotels was encouraged, and hotel staff also had a part in “victimizing” the individuals.
In addition to charges of human trafficking, a number of the defendants are suspected to have used the hotels as a hub for drug trafficking. “Overdoses were a common problem,” the release noted, “and at least one hotel had to keep Narcan at the front desk as a result.”
One or more defendants has also been charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States government, stemming from a criminal enterprise involved in the illegitimate acquisition of fraudulent visas. The nonimmigrant status visa is reserved for certain crime victims who have suffered abuse and cooperate with law enforcement in the prosecution and investigation of crimes. According to an affidavit, the owner of one of the hotels hired an employee to “rob” one of the salons in 2022, aiming to obtain a visa for the “victim” of the staged crime.
“There is nothing more reprehensible than exploiting human beings, particularly children, for sex, abusive labor conditions or deliberately violating U.S. immigration laws to profit from their suffering,” Immigrations and Customs Enforcement SAC Mark Zito noted. “These criminals hide in the shadows, prey on the vulnerable and show no regard for the laws or values of our nation… [We have] no intention of stopping until these predators are brought to justice and every victim is freed from their grip.”