![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vlcsnap-2026-09-09-07h42m26s637-1024x576.png\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vlcsnap-2026-09-09-07h43m17s712-1024x576.png\")
Guests describe being woken up as officers moved in<\/p>\nBrooklyn Center police said a year\u2011long investigation into suspected human trafficking and other criminal activity led to search warrants at four hotels early Wednesday \u2014 resulting in 23 arrests and a large multi\u2011agency response.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday is about accountability, but it\u2019s also about helping people who have been victimized once more,\u201d said Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt.<\/p>\n
The coordinated operation involved more than 250 personnel from local, county, state and federal agencies. Police executed 31 court\u2011authorized search warrants at the Travelodge, Super 8, Baymont and Suburban Studios, according to Brooklyn Center Police Chief Garett Flesland.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been a cop 26 years. I\u2019ve never been a part of an investigation this complex, this large. I don\u2019t honestly know how far some of these puzzle pieces will go,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Flesland said the suspected offenses include promotion of prostitution, sex trafficking, drug possession, drug manufacturing and possession of firearms by prohibited persons. He emphasized these are preliminary grounds for arrest and not final charges.<\/p>\n
Preliminary evidence recovered includes:<\/p>\n
Seven firearmsApproximately 1.5 pounds of drugs$9,000 in cash<\/p>\n
\u201cThis investigation began approximately one year ago within the Brooklyn Center Police Department, focused on suspected criminal activity associated with the Travelodge and Super 8 hotels,\u201d Flesland said. \u201cIt\u2019s incredibly concerning. These two hotels have generated the highest number of calls in the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flesland shared the following call\u2011for\u2011service data between Jan. 1, 2025, and Aug. 27, 2026:<\/p>\n
Super 8:\u00a0approximately 1,300 calls for service<\/p>\n
Travelodge:\u00a0approximately 975 calls for service<\/p>\n
Between both properties:<\/p>\n
246 arrests15 violent\u2011crime arrests53 violent\u2011crime\u2011related calls (including assaults, robberies, shootings, shots fired, sex crimes and weapons offenses)More than 100 drug overdoses, making up 24% of all reported overdoses in Brooklyn Center during this time.<\/p>\n
\u201cBehind those numbers are people who have experienced violence, exploitation, addiction and repeated emergencies,\u201d Flesland said. \u201cProtecting vulnerable people has been central to this effort.\u201d<\/p>\n
Officials said no one was hurt in the operation. They did not share how many trafficking victims were identified.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want everybody to know across Minnesota that human sex trafficking is not a victimless crime,\u201d said Drew Evans, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension superintendent. \u201cWe all need to pay attention each and every day, provide resources, help people escape exploitation and hold traffickers accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a statement to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said: \u201cOur staff assisted with the multi\u2011agency operation in Brooklyn Center, and we are ready to review incoming cases for potential charging.\u201d<\/p>\n
Guests describe being woken up as officers moved in<\/p>\n
Hotel guests at the Super 8 and Travelodge said they were sleeping when they heard banging and yelling from police.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a bang on all the doors \u2014 that was frightening a little bit,\u201d said a Super 8 guest.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout 4:30 in the morning, me and my girl heard them beating on the door,\u201d said Jeffrey Cohen.<\/p>\n
He said he heard police at another room before they moved to his. Cohen said he has lived at the Travelodge since April.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hear a knock on our door. \u2018Police!\u2019 I open up the door. [Police say] \u2018Let me in.\u2019 I\u2019m naked as hell. They cuff me up. I\u2019m naked, cuffed up. I\u2019m like, d***, bro, what do we do?\u201d<\/p>\n
He said he and about 20 men were cuffed and placed on buses. He said women were also detained.<\/p>\n
After being handcuffed, Cohen said he was later released.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had nothing to do with what was going on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
People staying at both hotels waited outside for hours to grab their belongings. Several guests said they live at the hotels long\u2011term.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I knew they was doing all this, maybe I would [have] went to another hotel,\u201d Cohen said. \u201cI\u2019m paid up for the week, so now my money gone. I don\u2019t know how to get that back or nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Officials said support is underway for both trafficking victims and hotel guests who were displaced. Advocates, social workers, and housing partners \u2014 including Hennepin County Public Health and Safe Harbor \u2014 were on site to help people access shelter, services and temporary lodging. <\/p>\n
Police said some guests requested help relocating to other hotels.<\/p>\n
Brooklyn Center police said Super 8 and Travelodge guests can retrieve the rest of their belongings Thursday and Friday from noon to 4 p.m.<\/p>\n
Officials said the investigation is ongoing.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFor Related Stories:\u00a0Arrest<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Brooklyn Center<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Brooklyn Center Police Department<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Human Trafficking<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Kamaria Braye<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brooklyn Center police said a year\u2011long investigation into suspected human trafficking and other criminal activity led to search…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":342410,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[101,98,9185,9186,100,99,10823,34611,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-342409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-arrest","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-center","tag-brooklyn-center-police-department","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-human-trafficking","tag-kamaria-braye","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=342409"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342409\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/342410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=342409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=342409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=342409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}