Federal agents arrested 905 people. This happened during the 2026 World Cup. Agents say the suspects sold people for sex. Agents also saved 180 victims. That is 150 adults and 30 kids.
The Department of Homeland Security shared these numbers. They spoke on July 29, 2026. DHS says its HSI team led the work. HSI stands for Homeland Security Investigations. Local police helped too. They worked in World Cup host cities. One big case happened in Dallas, Texas.
On July 24, agents in Dallas made arrests. They arrested eight people. The arrests came after a raid. Agents raided an adult bookstore. Agents say the store was a secret brothel. A brothel is a place where people get sold for sex. It ran that way for over 20 years.
HSI Dallas opened this case back in 2023. Agents say many adults and kids were sold there. They found dozens of victims. One victim was killed in 2024. A person was found guilty in that killing. That person got life in prison.
The eight suspects face serious charges. They are charged with sex trafficking. Police say they used force and lies. They also face money charges. Agents say they hid cash from the crimes. Federal lawyers in North Texas run the case.
Agents also worked a case out west. This happened on June 23 in San Francisco. Agents found two young trafficking victims. The FBI and local police helped. One girl went missing in 2025. She had been gone since November. She vanished from Bakersfield, California.
DHS says these cases show a bigger plan. Big events can bring in bad actors. Bad actors may want to sell people for sex. Agents say they watched host cities close. They watched them during the games.
Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis spoke about the arrests. She said: "While Americans and international visitors were enjoying the FIFA World Cup, the men and women of ICE law enforcement were hard at work cracking down on human trafficking operations in FIFA host cities across the country. Federal law enforcement arrested more than 900 suspects and rescued nearly 200 victims. Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, we are dismantling human trafficking networks."
The Dallas case is still in court. It is not clear if the suspects have pled yet. DHS has not said if more arrests will come. The agency says it will keep working these cases. A DHS trafficking team leads that work.
South Texas hears a lot about trafficking. Many local cases tie to the border. Some tie to busy roads like Interstate 35. This case shows the problem can hide anywhere. It can hide inside a business far from the border.
