A coordinated law enforcement operation has resulted in the arrest of ten people accused of running a sex-trafficking ring that preyed on roughly 51 underage girls and women along Los Angeles' Figueroa corridor, authorities announced Wednesday.
Prosecutors say members and associates of the Hoovers, a south Los Angeles-based gang, operated as pimps between February 2021 and June 2026. They recruited minors and vulnerable women, including runaways and foster children, using false promises of a better life or through violence, forcing them into sex work.
The charges against the accused reveal brutal tactics. Cameron Lockett, 23, allegedly beat a victim and bit off a chunk of her cheek in November 2024, then sent her to a hospital for treatment while pressuring her to lie to police about how she was injured. In July 2025, Caleed Mouton, 26, arranged an abortion for an underage trafficking victim and ordered her back into sex work the same day.
The investigation also exposed complicity from those operating hotels in the area. Mukeshkumar Ahir, 45 and manager of Stadium Inn & Spas, was charged with pocketing more than $64,000 in proceeds from the operation by reserving rooms for the illegal activity.
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said the arrests represent a direct strike against criminal enterprises profiting from human trafficking. "We are dismantling the criminal enterprises that profit from human trafficking, rescuing victims and reclaiming the Figueroa corridor for the community that has always deserved better," McDonnell said.
Figueroa, a roughly 4-mile corridor running north to south, has long been a hotbed of sex-trafficking activity and a frequent focus of law enforcement operations. The area gained additional notoriety last year when authorities charged eleven other Hoover gang members with sex-trafficking crimes, including 25-year-old Amaya Armstead, identified as the gang's "de facto leader." That trial is scheduled to begin in March.
Those convicted in the current case face sentences ranging from 15 years to life in prison.
Law enforcement's capacity to combat trafficking in the area has faced significant constraints. Budget cuts to the LAPD in 2021 reduced resources dedicated to human trafficking investigations. Additionally, the repeal of a law that had allowed police to arrest people loitering for sex work further limited officers' ability to apprehend trafficked minors. Advocates who supported the repeal argued the previous law enabled discriminatory enforcement against communities of color and transgender individuals.
Author James Rodriguez: "This operation shows Los Angeles is serious about dismantling trafficking networks, but the systemic constraints on police resources and enforcement tools suggest much harder work lies ahead."
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