Prostitution sting nets dozens of arrests in Harris Co.

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Dozens of people were arrested in Harris County in a national human trafficking operation that's spanned the last two weeks, including an employee with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency.

The operation took place between July 17 and August 3 in the sting targeting prostitution. In all, 23 suspected prostitutes and 76 suspected customers were arrested. One of those arrests was Isiah Carden, 46, of Spring, who is an agricultural specialist with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency.

The arrests were part of the National Day of Johns Arrests campaign that was started in 2011 by Cook County, IL, Sheriff Thomas J. Dart and now involves 59 law enforcement agencies across the country.

"Prostitution is intertwined with sex slavery and illegal drugs as part of an insidious network of criminal enterprises," Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia said. "This is not the first time we have used undercover male and female deputies to disrupt these illegal operations, and it won't be the last.

The national total of arrests included 496 suspected customers and 14 alleged "pimps" or traffickers.