7 indicted in connection with 2 human trafficking rings in Bridgeton and North Jersey

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New Jersey prosecutors Tuesday announced indictments against seven people accused of operating two human trafficking operations in North and South Jersey.

The South Jersey ring was based in Bridgeton, Cumberland County. Investigators found that groups of women were brought to a house on North Laurel Street on a weekly basis. The women were recruited falsely from Paterson, New Jersey, and Queens, New York, to work as dancers.

Once in the house, the victims were held hostage and forced to engage in sexual acts with numerous men in exchange for money, prosecutors said.

The suspects indicted by the grand jury are all from Bridgeton. Usiel Luna, 42, is identified by prosecutors as an organizer or supervisor of the ring. He faces the maximum sentence of 20 years to life in prison. Luna’s co-conspirators — 40-year-old Jose Perez-Lopez, 35-year-old Rosendo Vazquez-Hernandez and 28-year-old Yerson Puentes-Marquez — face a maximum sentence of 20 years.

In addition to operating a brothel, prosecutors allege that the suspects were also trafficking drugs. Law enforcement seized distribution amounts of methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana from the brothel and Luna’s home, along with more than $50,000, prosecutors said.

3 teenagers were victims in North Jersey ring

Prosecutors said the Essex County operation had two teenage victims, two 15-year-olds and a 13-year-old. Officials said the victims were taken to short-term rentals and hotels, where suspects were allegedly compensated for sexually assaulting them.

It is further alleged that one of the suspected traffickers used physical violence to control the teenage victims, including using an electrical cord for beatings.

Prosecutors filed charges against Khailah Meekins, 21, and Donte Barkley, 28, both of Newark on the Essex case. A third suspect, Richard Johnson, 24, was indicted earlier this year on related charges.

Ending human trafficking at all costs

New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said the alleged crimes “are a stark reminder as to why we must be steadfast in our goal to end human trafficking in all of its forms.”

Platkin used Tuesday’s press conference to highlight the work of the Human Trafficking Unit within the Division of Criminal Justice.

“Since it was created two years ago, we now have 11 seasoned litigators and investigators working together to pursue what are often complex human trafficking networks … across jurisdictional boundaries,” he said. “I’m also proud that the New Jersey State Police has significantly increased its human trafficking unit size. And our divisional criminal justice team was able to double in size this year as compared to its first year in operation.”

Platkin said his department charged more suspects with human trafficking in 2024, compared to 2018–2022.

He said more needs to be done, citing the “STALLS” public awareness campaign that was launched earlier this year to combat human trafficking. The bright pink posters, which are available for free, include reporting instructions on suspected human trafficking and where victims can call for help.