In conjunction with the Mesa Police Department’s Operation Summer Project 2021, the East Valley Human Trafficking Task Force hosted a “buyer reduction” operation Aug. 5-6 on South Country Club Drive and the U.S. Highway 60 in Mesa.

The operation brought numerous resources together to combat human sex trafficking and crime in the area, Mesa police said.

Eighteen arrests on the charge of adult prostitution were made over the two days, with one suspect charged with attempted sex conduct with a minor, child prostitution with a minor under 15, money laundering and prostitution, police said.

The East Valley Human Trafficking Task Force will continue working diligently to reduce human sex trafficking and crime in the east valley, police said.

The agencies that participated in the human sex-trafficking-reduction operation were: The Arizona Attorney general’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, Mesa Police Department, Scottsdale Police Department and the Tempe Police Department.