Local and federal law enforcement officials, including one from Canada, were expected to announce arrests and charges Tuesday in Los Angeles involving a transnational crime ring.
Details about the investigation, called Operation Hard Ball, were not released in advance, but those slated to attend the news conference Tuesday at the FBI’s Los Angeles office include First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, FBI Los Angeles Assistant Director in Charge Patrick Grandy, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell and Commissioner Mike Duheme of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Federal and local law enforcement investigators also cooperated in a recent investigation into human trafficking that resulted last week in a number of raids and arrests, dubbed Operation Broken Blade, on the 3.5-mile stretch of Figueroa Street from Gage Avenue south to Imperial Highway in South L.A., which is known as a hotbed for sex trafficking. Officials say gang members and associates largely control sex trafficking and prostitution along the corridor.