Oh Goodness, where do I begin with this one…..?

This article discusses both smuggling and involuntary servitude…there seem to be two investigations going on for both the smuggling and the servitude. Girls were brought to a restaurant that served as a brothel as well. People would eat there during the day and at night it became a brothel. How can people not notice something like this? We all go through life, though, not really paying attention to things like this, because having a brothel in a restaurant is the furthest thing from our minds. These types of crimes rarely cross the average person’s mind! This is what the human trafficking movement is about–raising awareness and making people aware that these crimes occur EVERYWHERE in the last place you expect!

Human Smuggling Alleged At Woodstock Restaurant

Kevin Rowson

WOODSTOCK, Ga. — A restaurant in Woodstock is the focus of a federal investigation into “human smuggling” and involuntary servitude. Two federal search warrant affidavits allege young women were smuggled into the United States and forced into prostitution.

According to the affidavits, the women came from Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador.

The investigation is focusing on Cabanas, a Salvadorian and Mexican restaurant. So far, no one has been arrested.

Clientele were going in and out of the restaurant Tuesday at dinner time. But according to federal investigators, the restaurant turned into a brothel after hours with an all-male clientele.

The affidavits, obtained by 11Alive News, allege the owner of the restaurant, who has not been charged, “Is believed to be actively involved in smuggling illegal aliens into the united states and requiring them to engage in prostitution in order to earn money to repay their smuggling fees.”

The FBI was brought into the case after Woodstock police received numerous complaints about the business’s after-hours activity. “Usually loud music,” said Sgt. Paul Brown. “We’ve had disturbances that have spilled out of the restaurant into the parking lot.” Sgt. Brown says most of that activity happened after midnight.

Woodstock police called in the Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad (C-MANS) to investigate the business because of drug allegations. “We also had some allegations that there might be some drug activity going on related to the restaurant,” Sgt. Brown said. C-MANS then called in the FBI after finding allegations of prostitution and human smuggling.

According to the federal search warrants, investigators put surveillance on the restaurant and a home in Woodstock owned by the restaurant owner. Search warrants were served at both locations Saturday night.

Tuesday evening, every window in the home was covered, including the garage door windows. The affidavit alleges some of the women who work at the restaurant live in the home. The affidavit says “Vehicles drop off and pick up Hispanic females approximately twelve times per day.”

Michael Garcia, who has lived in the neighborhood for sixteen years, says he noticed the traffic at all times of the night. “I thought they ran a taxi cab company,” he said. “There’s different types of taxis that always show up at the house.”

No one at the restaurant would talk to 11 Alive News. An employee locked the door after a request was made for an interview. The door was only unlocked for employees and patrons.

According to the affidavits, three confidential informants and an undercover officer participated in the investigation. Two confidential informants acted as patrons and one was hired as a waitress.

The informant hired as a waitress stated that “After 10:00pm, the clientele at the restaurant changes dramatically. The male customers in the restaurant after that time repeatedly inquire of the waitresses as to how much money they charge for sex”

Three days after the two search warrants were served, there were still no arrests. Woodstock police say three people were arrested as a result of outstanding warrants not connected to the “Human Smuggling” investigation.