13 men arrested in Pomona human trafficking bust

POMONA, Calif. (KABC) -- Los Angeles County sheriff's officials and Pomona police arrested 13 men in connection with a human trafficking operation based in Pomona, authorities said.

Twelve of the men arrested in the July 27 bust were adults who solicited undercover sheriff's deputies for sex acts, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The men were booked by the Pomona Police Department.

One 24-year-old man was arrested on felony charges of pandering after he attempted to recruit a sheriff's deputy to work as a prostitute, officials said. Anthony Grant, of Pomona, will be arraigned on those charges on July 31.

A joint task force conducted the undercover investigation into the alleged ring along Holt Avenue. According to LASD officials, the area "has historically been identified as an active area for human trafficking."

The LASD said the goal of the large-scale bust was to send a message. "Human trafficking will not be tolerated," the department said in a press release on the arrests.