Two brothers charged with kidnapping women and forcing them into prostitution in Lake Worth Beach

(Pictured above:  Glin Zuniga Latin (L) and Yudvin Zuniga Latin (R), arrested in Lake Worth Beach on Human Trafficking and Prostitution charges; Image credit: PBSO)

Two brothers in the U.S. illegally from Guatemala, identified as Glin Zuniga Latin and Yudvin Zuniga Latin, were arrested this week in downtown Lake Worth Beach, Florida, and charged with human trafficking and prostitution crimes after law enforcement officials discovered that they were holding two women against their wills and forcing them to commit commercial sex acts.

On Sunday, February 9, around 7:45 a.m., the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office (PBSO) received a 911 call from a young woman who reported that she had been kidnapped. She was unaware of her exact location but indicated she had been confined in a house for multiple days by the two men. Due to the limited information provided and the phone’s general location in a densely populated area in Lake Worth Beach, the situation required immediate investigative work.

Deputies converged on the area and began searching for any signs of suspicious activity. During their on-site investigation,  and while observing the area as pinged from the caller’s phone call, deputies noticed two men exhibiting suspicious behavior outside a residence in the 1400 block of Lake Avenue in Lake Worth Beach. Upon making contact, the men appeared nervous, prompting the deputies to investigate further.

.

Through their efforts, the deputies were able to visually confirm the presence of a female inside the residence. Recognizing the urgency of the situation, they made entry into the home and successfully located two female victims of a potential human trafficking operation.  The two men holding those women against their will were arrested and taken into custody.

Detectives from the Human Trafficking Team arrived and assumed the investigation. The facts reported revealed that the two women were recruited under false pretenses and forced to perform commercial sex activity. Detectives found probable cause to arrest Yudvin Zuniga Latin and Glin Zuniga Latin and both are being held without bond.

Yudvin Zuniga Latin. 32, and Glin Zuniga Latin, 30, were arrested on several human trafficking charges. Glin was additionally charged with aggravated assault and sex assault. !~ NBC News in Miami

According to NBC News in Miami, the 25-year-old female victim told the deputies that she and another young woman were planning on traveling to Tampa and make some money at a bar there.

While at Miami International Airport, they were allegedly approached and flirted with by the Zuniga Latin brothers, who told them they could make money through phone scams that could bring in hundreds of dollars a day. The women agreed and took an Uber to Lake Worth, where they were allegedly told by “Pepe” that they would be paid every night to have sex for money.   

“Pepe,” a cousin of the Latin brothers, fled the scene when the authorities arrived.

The victim said the brothers raped her several times and she was forced to take clients for more than 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

The two brothers are in the United States Illegally from Guatemala. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers have been placed on both suspects.

For more on the sex trafficking story in Lake Worth Beach, see the video accompanying this article.

–

(Source: PBSO)

Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
Follow Richard on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram