Than bars with loud music and cold beer. those that know will tell you that behind this public facade are little rooms with girls where latin american girls are force tobd sex slaves, trapped and threatened. why would a bar need beds? this man heads the texas agency that investigates bars and cantinas expected of criminal activity. the texas alcohol and beverage commission. five years ago, tabc inspectors stumbled on the evil secret behind the boom in what is called the cantina business. this is not a normal place that the girls get together to have a few drinks. you know, an applebee s or something after work. and with that many women there, there is a telltale sign something is not quite right. the tabc may be one of the most unlikely government groups to battle human traffickers but
But one day that card may be a lifeline to margarita or other girls like her seeking to leave the world of prostitution behind. most of your viewers need to realize, if you wake up in a strange country that you re not familiar with and you don t speak the language and the person that s keeping you tells you the police are bad, don t trust them, what are you going to do? you have no money, no support system, and you ve already been threatened. so that s the situation they re looking at. there will be no arrests here today, but for the tabc the visit is still a successful one. inspectors uncover numerous electrical and fire code violations like this one where a series of extension cords snake power to a taco wagon in the parking lot. all in all, today s surprise visit from inspectors will set back the cantina thousands of dollars in fines.
It s all part of an ongoing strategy by the tabc to bleed the bad actors financially dry and force them out of the business. we re attacking their financial structure, basically, because we know these people are engaging in prostitution. we ve made cases here before. we ve rescued a girl that was kidnapped and being forced to be a prostitute here. we re going to take advantage of every law we have on the books to bring these people into compliance, basically. either that or get them out of business. we re not making a human trafficking case, but we ll make an organized crimes case, we ll make narcotics cases. we work with building inspects. we even use a dog catcher at times. because we found one location that was involved in a cruelty to animals case. so, basically, we ll do anything we can to make sure these bars are out of business.
There s another lady back there or a guy that will take your money for you. $50 was for the sex act and $2 and some change was for a condom, some spermicide lubricant and couple of paper towels to wipe up with, i guess. that s how disgusting it was. we have a price. here in houston. advocate jose says every day for the last six years trafficked women and young children come desperately seeking help after being horribly exploited. they re sleeping all day and working in the night. and they never saw the money. jose says bar owners give the girls a quota, forcing them to sleep with nine or ten men a night, charging anywhere from $60 to $100 for an hour of sex. cantina owners make thousands. this kind of business move a lot of money. how far-reaching is the business of sex slavery? in 2005, tabc participated in
Life today. and all that geffen can do is offer her a business card. but one day that card may be a lifeline to margarita or other girls like her seeking to leave the world of prostitution behind. most of your viewers need to realize, if you wake up in a strange country that you re not familiar with and you don t speak the language and the person that s keeping you tells you the police are bad, don t trust them, what are you going to do? you have no money, no support system, and you ve already been threatened. so that s the situation they re looking at. there will be no arrests here today, but for the tabc the visit is still a successful one. inspectors uncover numerous electrical and fire code violations like this one where a series of extension cords snake power to a taco wagon in the parking lot. all in all, today s surprise visit from inspectors will set back the cantina thousands of dollars in fines.
Loud music and cold beer. those that know will tell you that behind this facade is little rooms with girls forced to be sex slaves. trapped and enslaved by the threat of violence. why would a bar need beds? phil schreffler heads the texas agency that investigates bars and cantinas expected of criminal activity. the texas alcohol and beverage commission. five years ago, tabc inspectors stumbled on the evil secret behind the boom in what is called the cantina business. this is not a normal place that the girls get together to have a few drinks. you know, an applebee s or something after work. and with that many women there, there is a telltale sign something is not quite right. the tabc may be one of the
how far-reaching is the business of sex slavery? in 2005, tabc participated in one of the biggest sex slavery busts texas had ever seen. federal authorities targeted cantinas run by organized crime figures, the brothers victor and oscar. over 100 women were freed from houston cantinas in the raids. one of them was maria, a single mother who left a successful bakery business in el salvador, hoping to make more money to support her family. translator: he took me over to some clients who were drinking and said, look, fresh meat from el salvador. he pushed me between the legs of the men and told them, here, you can do whatever you want with her. the man grabbed me and put his hands on me and i said, get off of me. she says the constant threat of violence was used to keep her in line. translator: i said, walter, i don t like this work.
There s another lady back there or a guy that will take your money for you. $50 was for the sex act and $2 and some change was for a condom, some spermicide lubricant and couple of paper towels to wipe up with, i guess. that s how disgusting it was. here in houston. advocate jose says every day for the last six years trafficked women and young children come desperately seeking help after being horribly exploited. they re sleeping all day and working in the night. and they never saw the money. jose says bar owners give the girls a quota, forcing them to sleep with nine or ten men a night, charging anywhere from $60 to $100 for an hour of sex. cantina owners make thousands. this kind of business move a lot of money. how far-reaching is the business of sex slavery? in 2005, tabc participated in one of the biggest sex slavery
Business of sex slavery? in 2005, tabc participated in one of the biggest sex slavery busts texas had ever seen. federal authorities targeted cantinas run by organized crime figures, the brothers victor and oscar. over 100 women were freed from houston cantinas in the raids. one of them was maria, a single mother who left a successful bakery business in el salvador, hoping to make more money to support her family. translator: he took me over to some clients who were drinking and said, look, fresh meat from el salvador. he pushed me between the legs of the men and told them, here, you can do whatever you want with her. the man grabbed me and put his hands on me and i said, get off of me. she says the constant threat of violence was used to keep her in line. translator: i said, walter, i don t like this work. i m going to leave. he said, you can t leave here.
Those that know will tell you that behind this facade is little rooms with girls forced to be sex slaves. why would a bar need beds? this man heads the texas agency that that investigates bars and cantinas expected of criminal activity. the texas alcohol and beverage commission. five years ago, tabc inspectors stumbled on the evil secret behind the boom in what is called the cantina business. this is not a normal place that the girls get together to have a few drinks. you know, an applebee s or something after work. and with that many women there, there is a telltale sign something is not quite right. the tabc may be one of the most unlikely government groups to battle human traffickers but arguably one of the most determined and best at it. will just three full-time