OMAHA — Several people are in federal custody after a series of raids at Nebraska hotels on Tuesday.

The FBI says its agents arrested five people at four hotels, two residential places, and six businesses described as eyebrow salons in eastern Nebraska. FBI Special Agent in Charge for Omaha Eugene Kowel says the operation involved years of investigating human trafficking rings.

Agents say victims as young as 12 were forced into unsafe and dangerous working conditions with little to no pay, and forced into sexual or criminal activity in exchange for rent.

“What happened in this case is absolutely atrocious,” Homeland Security Special Agent in Charge Mark Zito said. “The idea that criminals believe they can exploit children and other vulnerable individuals in our communities, victimize innocent people and then hide from justice is unacceptable.”

According to a news release, the suspects own, operate and manage several hotels in the Omaha metro area where federal search warrants were executed on Tuesday:

·                The AmericInn, 2920 S 13 Ct., Omaha;

·                The Inn (formerly Super 8), 9305 S 145th St., Omaha;

·                The New Victorian, 10728 L St., Omaha; and

·                Roadway Inn, 1110 Fort Crook Rd S, Bellevue, NE.

The five charged and arrested are:

·                Kentakumar Chaudhari, a/k/a Ken Chaudhari, age 36, of Elkhorn, NE;

·                Rashmi Ajit Samani, a/k/a Falguni Samani, age 42, of Elkhorn, NE;

·                Amit Prahladbhai Chaudhari, a/k/a Amit, age 32, of Omaha;

·                Amit Babubhai Chaudhari, a/k/a Matt, age 33, of Omaha; and

·                Maheshkumar Chaudhari, a/k/a Mahesh, age 38, of Norfolk, NE.

According to officials, hotel staff allowed and encouraged the trafficking.

Authorities said that most of the victims were foreign born. 

“(The investigation) was exhaustive. It was exhaustive because of the victims, the vulnerable victims associated with this and the victims that were about to be brought into it no longer have to deal with this facet,” Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said.

During the operation, officials say officers rescued 10 minors from an alleged labor trafficking conspiracy that involved putting children under the age of 12 to work at the hotels for long hours with little to no pay. 17 adult victims were also rescued from the same conspiracy.

ICE officials say some people were arrested who were unconnected to the case because they were in the country illegally. It's unclear how many were detained.

NCN talked to an out-of-state construction worker at the New Victorian Inn. He said ICE agents “took” half of his construction crew.

Officials are encouraging the public to reach out with any information.

From the U.S. Attorney's Office news release:

"The lodging accommodations were unclean, unsafe, and unhealthy.  Online reviews for the hotel locations detail the firsthand accounts of travelers who occupied the same locations briefly.  On one occasion, a source working with the federal government entered a hotel room where immigrant victims were sleeping on the floor of the room with cockroaches crawling on the victims as they slept. 

Separately, the United States Attorney’s Office has alleged that one or more of the defendants were engaged in a sex trafficking conspiracy that allegedly victimized both minors and adults.  Sex trafficking was not only allowed at the hotels according to complaint affidavit allegations but also encouraged, protected from law enforcement detection, and sex trafficking victims at the hotels were subjected not only to the traditional perpetrators of a sex trafficking scheme but also to hotel management and employees victimizing them as well.

Beyond these allegations, multiple defendants are alleged to have maintained these hotels as premises to conduct drug trafficking freely.   Drug traffickers allegedly received protection from law enforcement in the same manner in which human traffickers were also shielded by the hotel owners and managers.  Overdoses were a common problem, and at least one hotel had to keep Narcan at the front desk as a result.  One source cited described a stairwell of one of the hotels as being littered with drug needles.  Drug use was open and notorious in the parking lots according to eyewitnesses and to some online guest reviews."