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(Reuters) - The FBI arrested 150 people across the United States on charges of holding children against their will for prostitution, a three-day weekend sweep that officials on Monday called the largest-ever operation against child sex-trafficking.

The suspects, whom the FBI referred to as "pimps," were arrested in 76 U.S. cities and are expected to face state and federal charges related to sex crimes and human trafficking, FBI and U.S. Justice Department officials said at a news conference.

FBI agents and local police recovered 105 children during the operation at truck stops, motels, casinos and other places where they were forced to work as prostitutes, officials said.

Of the 150 suspects, 18 were arrested by agents based in Detroit, 17 by agents from San Francisco and 13 by Oklahoma City agents, the FBI said.

The FBI said the suspects were not part of the same operation. It said some belonged to organized crime while others acted alone. The bureau did not immediately release a list of the suspects.

The FBI typically does not investigate adult prostitution, leaving it as a state and local matter, but in recent years it has made child prostitution a priority in a program the FBI calls Operation Cross Country. The program includes highway billboards asking people to call the FBI with tips.

About 1,350 people have been convicted as part of the program and at least 10 of them were sentenced to life in prison, officials said.

The latest sweep was the seventh and largest under Operation Cross Country, they said.

Children who are most vulnerable to being exploited for sex crimes are between 13 and 16 years old without strong ties to family members, officials said.

"We are trying to take this crime out of the shadows and put a spotlight on it," said FBI Assistant Director Ronald Hosko.

Hotfoot wrote:Well it's hard for the FBI to manage things outside the US given that, you know, that's not their job really. That's usually the job of Interpol to pass information between countries to help coordinate their law enforcement efforts.

Josh wrote:I just wish they'd expand it to the overseas sex slavery import traffic. But one day at a time and yes, this is a very good thing.

Josh wrote:

Hotfoot wrote:Well it's hard for the FBI to manage things outside the US given that, you know, that's not their job really. That's usually the job of Interpol to pass information between countries to help coordinate their law enforcement efforts.

I'm talking import, in-country. I know they can't do much more than roll the dice on cooperation overseas.

Basically, I wish they'd take at least half the manpower they throw at the pill-poppers and the powder-pushers and put it into eliminating the slave trade on our soil.

Yeah...that's not productive or useful in any way Tev. Angry though you may be, the people INVOLVED should be put in jail, not people who happened to be in the area of effect.

Fuck, if a hotel, motel, or rest stop had to be closed by the government every time something illegal happened in one, they simply wouldn't exist. It's not their business to monitor what happens in the rooms, though everyone who says they should no longer gets to complain about the NSA wiretaps.

Comrade Tortoise wrote:That would require burning down half of Houston.

Josh wrote:If you could work out a good reason along these lines for burning down the other half you would not believe how onboard I'd be for the whole thing.

B4UTRUST wrote:

Josh wrote:If you could work out a good reason along these lines for burning down the other half you would not believe how onboard I'd be for the whole thing.

Suspected of harboring slavers? To ensure that none escape? Denying the enemy a place of refuge? Providing evidence that the other half was involved in some manner? Providing evidence that the other half was benefiting from the first half economically or otherwise?

Comrade Tortoise wrote:There are... certain business operations that get much of their revenue on the slave trade, however. Many Cantinas in Houston are fronts for brothels dealing in trafficked women and children. San Francisco massage parlors are largely the same, as many of them are "staffed" by women trafficked from Asia.