A federal grand jury has indicted eleven illegal aliens from Venezuela and Colombia on charges including sex trafficking of a minor and an adult, drug trafficking, and firearms offenses, with ten arrests made across four states.\n\nThe 30-count indictment, returned on June 11 and unsealed today, alleges that from July through August 2025, four defendants conspired to sex traffic a minor and an adult, traveling interstate and creating online commercial sex advertisements in central Ohio.\n\nAdditionally, from May 2025 to April 2026, defendants allegedly engaged in a narcotics conspiracy involving MDMA or ecstasy. Some defendants are also accused of unlawfully possessing firearms as illegal aliens and illegally trafficking at least nine firearms.\n\nU.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II said, "These defendants—ten of whom are currently illegally present in this country—allegedly engaged in a panoply of illicit trafficking activity, from drugs to firearms to human beings." He added that such crimes would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge Jason Cromartie emphasized the commitment to keeping Ohio safe and removing criminals.\n\nThe investigation was led by a Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF), established by Executive Order 14159, which focuses on dismantling criminal cartels and transnational organizations. The HSTF Columbus, comprising federal, state, and local agencies, aims to identify, investigate, and prosecute a wide range of crimes, particularly those involving child trafficking.\n\nAn indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
