Latest news with #stingoperation
Khaleej Times
5 days ago
- Khaleej Times
Dubai: Two men sentenced to life for cocaine trafficking after sting operation
The Dubai Criminal Court has sentenced two Arab nationals to life imprisonment after they were found guilty of drug trafficking. The pair were arrested during a sting operation conducted by Dubai Police while attempting to sell cocaine to an undercover agent. According to case details, Dubai Police's General Department of Narcotics Control received credible intelligence indicating that one of the defendants had illegal narcotics and intended to sell them. Following thorough surveillance and verification of the information, officers obtained a warrant from the public prosecution and set up a sting to catch the suspects in the act. The operation was executed after anti-narcotics officers documented the marked money and coordinated with a source who posed as a buyer. The main suspect arrived at the agreed location on a motorbike accompanied by his accomplice, who remained on standby to monitor the area. As the first suspect handed over the cocaine in exchange for cash, the police team moved in. Officers apprehended the seller, while the second suspect attempted to flee the scene. The arrested man confessed to knowing the accomplice, confirming they had jointly planned to sell the cocaine for Dh700. He admitted to executing the sale and said the other man had accompanied him. The suspect also confessed to discarding the police money upon arrest and refused to provide a sample for drug testing. The second suspect was later tracked down and arrested. A subsequent search of their residence led to the discovery of 32 narcotic pills and a quantity of crystal meth, which they allegedly possessed for personal use. A Dubai Police officer testified that the team followed all legal procedures, with one officer posing as the buyer. The meeting location was arranged, and the suspects showed up roughly 40 minutes later. The second defendant deliberately stood at a distance, appearing cautious and scanning the area. Within minutes of completing the drug deal, officers moved in and arrested the first suspect. He attempted to flee and threw the money on the ground, but was quickly restrained. He later identified his accomplice from a photograph and revealed that he received a share of the profits from each sale. When police raided their residence, other individuals were found in an intoxicated state. During court proceedings, the defendants argued that the investigation lacked credibility and was based on insufficient evidence. However, the court dismissed their claims, stating that the arresting officers acted within their legal authority. It added that it was satisfied with the weight of evidence presented, noting that the defendants' denial was merely an attempt to escape liability.
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Yahoo
Undercover operation nabs 12 child predators who thought they were meeting teen girl
Twelve suspects are facing numerous charges following a three-day child predator sting. The Cherokee Sheriff's Office said it worked with local, state, and federal agencies to conduct 'Operation Phantom Whisper.' During the operation, undercover officers posed as underaged girls in an effort to target the suspects who are accused of arranging to meet who they believed to be a 14-year-old girl for sex. 'People who prey on our children will always be our highest priority. You will be arrested, prosecuted, and you will be removed from society,' said Cherokee Sheriff Frank Reynolds. 'The Cherokee Sheriff's office worked in conjunction with a number of local, state, and federal agencies to conduct this undercover operation, targeting basically anyone who is looking to prey or exploit our children in our community. Twelve individuals were arrested over this three-day period, which is quite substantial,' said Patty Pan, Cherokee County Sheriff's Public Information Officer. TRENDING STORIES: UPS delivers voluntary buyout option for drivers amid company restructure Body camera video shows the moment stampede broke out after Beyoncé concert Bank robber rode up on scooter, pulled out key fob 'detonator' while demanding $40K Investigators said 11 of the 12 suspects traveled to various locations in Cherokee County with the intent of having sex with a 14-year-old girl. One of the suspects lives in North Carolina. The other suspects live in Georgia. 'Undercover officers posing as a 14-year-old girl would be online, and basically, they would do this over the 72-hour undercover operation,' Pan said. 'These suspects would initiate contact, then there would be a prearranged meeting location, and when these individuals would show up at these locations thinking that they were going to be meeting with a 14-year-old girl, instead they met with us.' 'This undercover operation was a success because of the agencies that we partnered with. We do have a strong message for parents really all over that you really need to monitor your children, their online activity, talk to them about these online predators,' Pan continued. Solve the daily Crossword
CBS News
03-07-2025
- CBS News
Pittsburgh-area man accused of trying to meet 12-year-old girl for sex in undercover sting
A Pitcairn man was arrested after authorities said he showed up to a sting, ready to pay $300 to have sex with a 12-year-old girl. According to court paperwork, 40-year-old Lane Simpson is facing multiple charges after a special agent with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General pretended to be the mother of a young girl, telling Simpson he could have sex with her imaginary daughter in exchange for money. The criminal complaint says the operation started on June 24, when the agent assumed the identity of a fake Pennsylvania mom and began communicating with Simpson. On July 1, the agent said Simpson reached out to the child's mother, asking if he could meet the girl in the evening and acknowledging that he knew she was only 12 years old. The agent said Simpson could have sex with the girl, telling him it was $300, to which he responded, "perfect," according to the criminal complaint. Investigators said Simpson said he was a little nervous and asked the agent to prove it wasn't a setup, but Simpson still showed up at the meeting spot in Robinson Township around 7:30 p.m. After knocking on the door, authorities said he was arrested. During an interview, investigators said Simpson admitted to arranging sex with the girl using two different phone numbers. After he was arrested, authorities said they found $310 and a bag of gummy bears on him. Simpson was charged with unlawful contact with a minor, criminal attempt and criminal use of a communication facility.
BreakingNews.ie
02-07-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
Pensioner jailed for having sexual conversations with what he thought were young girls
A pensioner who was caught in a sting operation by an online group after he sent sexually explicit images and had sexualised conversations with what he believed were 11- to 12-year-old girls has been jailed for two years. Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard that Patrick (Pat) Linehan, previously of Comeragh Park, the Glen, Cork city, initially described his interactions with what he thought were very young girls as 'harmless fun.' Advertisement Mr Linehan previously pleaded guilty to using technology to interact with children for sexual exploitation. He also admitted arranging to meet a child for the purpose of sexual assault. Det Garda Brendan Murray said that gardaí were called to the home of Mr Linehan on July 8th, 2023. The 70-year-old had been approached by members of an organisation called Child Online Protection Enforcers. Det Garda Murray said that individuals in the group had set up fake decoy profiles where they posed as children. Mr Linehan went as far to try and arrange to meet up with what he thought was a twelve-year-old girl for a 'kiss and a cuddle ' and to 'make love in the back seat of a car in the country.' Det Garda Murray said that when gardaí arrived at the home of Mr Linehan, a member of the enforcers group handed them two USB storage devices. The devices contained sexualised conversations between the accused and adults pretending to be two girls, aged 11 and 12 years. Det Garda Murray said that the accused acknowledged sending images and videos to one of the girls. However, he denied that the videos were obscene in nature. Advertisement 'He also stated that she had asked to meet with him a few times, but he had never met up with her.' "In the initial conversations with each of the profiles, Pat Linehan is informed he is communicating with children, and their ages are discussed on a number of occasions throughout the message threads.' Mr Linehan told the persons posing as young girls that he was 13 years old. But he subsequently sent images of a sexual nature of himself. He then admitted that he was in his sixties. Det Garda Murray said that Mr Linehan engaged in sexual conversations with both profile users and detailed in graphic detail the sexual acts he would like to perform on one of the girls. Advertisement 'He asks if they would perform sexual acts on him, to which they reply, questioning if they're allowed to do that, given their ages, Pat Linehan suggests nobody would know, that it would be a secret. He sent images of his penis to both girls, and he sent videos of a sexual nature to the profile of the 11 year old girl. The message thread to both girls began on June 19th, 2023, and continued for a number of weeks, concluding on July 8th 2023.' Defence counsel Ronan Barnes, BL, said that his client had an exemplary work record. Mr Linehan was employed for Cork County Council for over thirty years. He added that Mr Linehan cooperated with gardaí and pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity. Judge Helen Boyle said that Mr Linehan had engaged with adults who were 'masquerading as children', telling them he was 13 years old before eventually stating he was 64 years old. In fact, he was several years older than that. Advertisement Judge Boyle said that Mr Linehan had gone as far as to try to arrange to meet what he thought was a 12-year-old girl. She described his culpability as 'high' and said that although no injured parties exist in the case, the offences committed by the accused related to 'intent.' In mitigation, Judge Boyle noted that Mr Linehan was without previous convictions and had voluntarily returned from his new home in South Africa to face the case. She also acknowledged that the guilty plea had saved the State the cost of a trial. Judge Boyle jailed Mr Linehan for 3.5 years. She suspended the final 18 months of the sentence with the condition that he return to South Africa within two weeks of finishing his prison sentence. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at or visit Rape Crisis Help .
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Yahoo
12 men arrested for soliciting a minor in Eden Prairie human trafficking sting
The Brief Twelve men were arrested in a human trafficking sting in Eden Prairie Monday. The men were arrested for attempted exploitation of a minor. The men allegedly attempted to solicit a 17-year-old girl online, who was actually an undercover officer. EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (FOX 9) - A dozen men were arrested for soliciting a minor in a human trafficking sting in Eden Prairie on Monday. What we know Eden Prairie police announced Friday that a human trafficking sting led to the arrest of 12 men for attempted exploitation of a minor. The men believed they were arranging to pay for sex with a 17-year-old girl, who was actually an undercover officer. The operation involved a multiple-agency task force that focused on trafficking and exploitation in the Interstate 494 corridor. According to police, the men ranged in age from 24-46, and were from all over the Twin Cities. Dig deeper So far, nine of the men arrested have been charged with one count each of prostitution of a minor. The men charged are: Thai Lor, 25 Ross Orren Nordean, 25 Roberto Carlos Geronimo, 24 Angel David Agustin, 27 Jose Isaias Perdomo Elias, 27 Mohammad Reza Pourmand, 45 Abdullahi Yussuf Sheikh Nur, 46 Said Rahman Amanzai, 42 Eduardo Solis-Perez, 32 According to the charges, authorities had posted a "decoy" ad online advertising sex services, and provided a phone and photos of an undercover officer. Lor contacted the number on the ad asking about availability and rates. The undercover officer responded, and told him she was younger than the ad said, saying she was 17. Lor continued to arrange to pay for sex and meet up with her, court documents state. Lor was arrested at the meet-up site, and had $380, a loaded firearm and a cell phone with him, charges say. When Nordean contacted the undercover officer attempting to solicit, he acknowledged several times that the undercover officer was 17, and it was illegal for him, the charges allege. At the meet-up location, when police closed in on Nordean, he attempted to flee in his car but crashed into a tree. Officers found $940 and a cell phone. According to the charges, when Geronimo solicited the undercover officer, she asked him "u ok with you[n]g", to which Geronimo responded "yeah". The undercover officer asked Geronimo to bring Sour Patch Kids as an early birthday present. When Geronimo was arrested at the meet-up location, officers found $6, a bag of Sour Patch Kids and a cell phone, charges said. Agustin called and texted the undercover officer asking if she was available, court documents state. The undercover officer told Agustin she was young and was "like almost 18", and asked if he was "good with that". Agustin responded, "He was OK with that and 'don't worry'". He also asked the undercover officer to Facetime and asked for a photo, the charges said. When Agustin was arrested at the meet-up location, he had $250 and a cell phone on him. The charges say when Elias was told by the undercover officer, "im [sic] almost 17," he responded with "Really, and where do you live?" Elias then arranged to meet-up with the undercover officer. He was then arrested and had $216, condoms and a cell phone with him. After Pourmand reached out to the undercover officer for sex, she told him she was only 17-years-old, to which Pourmand responded that he "liked them younger" and asked to confirm the undercover officer's birthday. She said she was born in December 2007, and Pourman responded "you almost 18" and "its okay", the charges stated. Pourman was arrested and had $503.45 and three cell phones on him. The undercover officer told Nur after he reached out that she was younger, "almost 18" and that the ad ""will be taken down if I say 17." Nur continued to arrange to meet the undercover officer, and he was arrested at a golf course in Eden Prairie, charges said. He had $250 on him and a cell phone. When the undercover officer told Amanzai she was young and 17, and said "I don't want u pissed," Amanzai said she's lying and proceeded to attempt to meet her, court documents state. He was arrested with $274 and a cell phone on him. Solis-Perez was told by the undercover officer she was 17, and asked him if he was good with that. He responded saying he was OK with that and said, "got me worry your age," court documents said. He then asked for a photo of the undercover officer and for her address. Solis-Perez didn't stop at the location but slowed by the entrance. He then drove past and turned around. Police then tried to conduct a traffic stop on Solis-Perez, who then fled police. Police had to conduct a PIT maneuver to stop Solis-Perez, who was then arrested with $200, a condom, cocaine, methamphetamine and two cell phones, charges said. The charges say that for all these men, a confirmatory text was sent by officers to the number used by the men to communicate with the undercover officer, and the texts came through on all the men's phones. What they're saying Eden Prairie police say since 2016, they have taken part in 38 sting operations, which led to 401 arrests for trafficking-related offenses. Investigators have also been able to connect with 117 victims and provide support to them. The Source A press release from Eden Prairie police, and court documents from Hennepin County.
