Viral videos circulating on social media Thursday claimed to show a human trafficking operation in progress outside of Atlanta, but authorities tell Newsweek there was no evidence of exploitation.
Langston Proper was driving from midtown Atlanta to Gwinnett County on June 21, according to his Facebook post about the incident, when he started to see what appears to be an arm and a face pop out from the back of a Budget moving truck he was behind.
Proper recorded the scene in several videos he posted to social media.
"I never would've thought I actually would have seen this right in front of my eyes and not just in movies or hear about it word of mouth," he wrote on Facebook.
Newsweek made contact with Proper but he was not immediately available to comment for this article.
Proper followed the truck and reported it to police, who intercepted the vehicle shortly thereafter. The Gwinnett County Police told Newsweek they stopped the vehicle near Sugarloaf Parkway on I-85 Northbound.
The responding officers found two families in the back of the van. There were eight people in total, including two children, according to a spokesperson for the Gwinnett County Police Department.
"The occupants all told officers that they were traveling from Alabama to Maryland for a new job opportunity," the police said. "The truck also included their personal belongings."
The truck driver was cited for allowing the occupants to ride in the back without a seatbelt. They were all taken to a local business and dropped off so they could find an alternative way to Maryland.
"There is no evidence at this time of human trafficking," the department said.
Georgia's Sex Trafficking Problem
Atlanta's location and reputation as a major commercial air and ground transportation hub has made it a center of human trafficking, especially for young women coming from Mexico and Central America, according to the Department of Justice. The city ranked as one of the 14 U.S. cities with the highest levels of sex trafficking for children.
In 2019, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr created a statewide Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, with dedicated prosecutors, investigators, analysts, a victim advocate and paralegal.
The unit works with local, state and federal law enforcements to arrest and prosecute offenders while rescuing victims of sex trafficking.
Last year, the unit rescued 129 victims. It worked on 81 case investigations and secured 29 new convictions as well.
The National Human Trafficking Hotline's most recent data shows that 1,073 signals were received by the hotline in 2021 from Georgia. Almost 350 of those were from victims or survivors of human trafficking. Nationally, in the same year, 51,073 signals were received.
In May, investigators arrested four men who they believe were involved in sexually trafficking at least one teen girl across Fulton and DeKalb counties.
There was also a federal court case recently where 11 women are suing Red Roof Inn, claiming to be victims of sex trafficking at two Atlanta locations. They claim the motel chain not only knew about the issue but also profited from it. The case ended in an undisclosed settlement.
If you suspect human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll free at (888) 373-7888. To report suspected human trafficking in Georgia, call the Statewide 24-Hour Human Trafficking Hotline at (866) 363-4842.
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Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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