Five Indian hotel operators charged with using minors to run drug, sex trafficking rings out of Nebraska

The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska announced on Tuesday that five people have been arrested and charged in connection with a human trafficking ring in the Omaha metro area. A total of 10 minors were rescued as well as 17 adult victims.

In the morning hours of August 12, federal search warrants were carried out at the AmericInn, The Inn, and The New Victorian, all in Omaha, as well as the Roadway Inn in nearby Bellevue, per US Attorney for the District of Nebraska Lesley Woods. A total of 14 warrants were carried out at area businesses, with the rest of the businesses being "Brow and Lash" salons in the area.

Those arrested were 36-year-old Kentakumar Chaudhari, 42-year-old Rashmi Ajit Samani, 32-year-old Amit Prahladbhai Chaudhari, 33-year-old Amit Babubhai Chaudhari, and 38-year-old Maheshkumar Chaudhari. They received a range of federal violations "that center around their alleged conspiracy to engage in labor trafficking, sex trafficking, and harboring of aliens at several hotel locations across the Omaha metro area."

"During the operation, law enforcement officers rescued 10 minors from an alleged labor trafficking conspiracy that involved putting children under the age of twelve years old to work at hotels for long hours with little to no pay. Seventeen adult victims were also rescued from the same conspiracy."

The office said that the victims were subjected to "exploitative conditions" while "being required to pay the defendants for their lodging at the hotels," which were described as "unclean, unsafe, and unhealthy." One source working with the government entered a hotel room where immigrant victims were sleeping on the floor of the room with cockroaches crawling on the victims as they slept."

In addition to the alleged exploitative conditions, the attorney’s office said that at least one defendant was "engaged in a sex trafficking conspiracy that allegedly victimized both minors and adults." Sex trafficking was allegedly "encouraged" at the hotels, and sex trafficking victims "were subjected not only to the traditional perpetrators of a sex trafficking scheme but also to hotel management and employees victimizing them as well."

"At least one of the defendants is charged with a conspiracy to defraud the United States Government by instigating a criminal scheme designed to obtain U visas under fraudulent circumstances. The U nonimmigrant status (U visa) is set aside for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity."

One hotel owner allegedly hired a worker at a hotel "to stage a fictitious robbery of one of the Brow and Lash salons in 2022. The goal was to secure a U visa for one of the other defendants by making her a "victim" of the robbery."

One defendant also allegedly had engaged in conversations regarding bringing someone from India to America, and how much that would cost. Some hotel employees had crossed the Arizona border "several years ago" and reported to Border Patrol that they would be residing at the defendants' hotels.

Multiple defendants were also accused of drug trafficking, and one hotel had such an issue with overdoses that Narcan was kept behind the front desk. Over $565,000 in US currency was seized by authorities that was allegedly involved in money laundering.