3:10 PM | Wednesday, September 9, 2026<\/p>\n
Law enforcement officials say 23 people were arrested in raids on four Brooklyn Center hotels this Wednesday.<\/p>\n
At least seven firearms, $9,000 in cash, and a pound-and-a-half of drugs were recovered during the raids.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been a cop for 26 years. I\u2019ve never been a part of an investigation this complex, this large,\u201d said Garett Flesland, Brooklyn Center Police Chief. \u201cThis investigation \u2014 it\u2019s just starting. We\u2019re going to get the help to the people that deserve the help, the people that need the help. But we\u2019re also going to track and figure out who should be held accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Garett Flesland, Brooklyn Center Police Chief, a team of law enforcement agencies executed 31 search warrants at four hotels, including the Travelodge, the Super 8, the Baymont, and Suburban Suites.<\/p>\n
Arrestees are suspected of crimes including sex trafficking, promotion of prostitution, drug possession, drug manufacturing and illegal gun possession.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have cases that are tied to these locations from all over Minnesota and they\u2019re part of ongoing criminal investigations,\u201d said Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Supt. Drew Evans.<\/p>\n
Human Trafficking at Hotels<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unclear if there was a single criminal entity operating at the hotels.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s too early to really totally define that,\u201d Flesland said. \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. As our detectives followed evidence, the investigation grew. They identified connections with ongoing criminal investigations being conducted by other agencies. Those connections brought together investigators, information and resources from across the region.\u201d<\/p>\n
More than 250 local, county state and federal law enforcement personnel were involved in the operation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe investigation has involved repeated contacts with individuals believed to be victims of human trafficking, including several prior victim recoveries at the Travelodge conducted by the Minnesota Human Trafficking Investigators Task Force,\u201d a press release reads. \u201cSeveral individuals have directly reported to detectives that they were being trafficked. Detectives also report that individuals previously contacted or recovered have returned to the same environment, illustrating how coercion, threats, and addiction can make it extremely difficult for victims to leave. When the search warrant applications were finalized, investigators documented nine active commercial-sex advertisements associated with the hotels.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, police say several suspects that were arrested have serious criminal histories.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cInvestigators have also identified several principal subjects with extensive arrest and\/or conviction histories involving violence, firearms, and serious narcotics offenses,\u201d a press release reads. \u201cThose histories include offenses such as armed robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault, firearm offenses, domestic violence, and assaults against law enforcement. Those risk factors are among the reasons specialized tactical resources were used to execute the warrants as safely as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Police had \u201cextensive\u201d conversations with prosecutors ahead of the arrests which should \u201cpay dividends\u201d when it comes to criminal charges, Flesland said.<\/p>\n
Problematic Properties<\/p>\n
From Jan. 1 2025 to August 27, 2026, police were called to the Super 8 1,300 times.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Police were called to the Travelodge 975 times over the same period.<\/p>\n
The two properties were responsible for nearly one in every four drug overdoses in Brooklyn Center, or more than 100 total drug overdose calls.<\/p>\n
\u201cBehind those numbers are people who have experienced violence, exploitation, addiction and repeated emergencies,\u201d Flesland said. \u201cOur officers continued responding to those individual calls while detectives worked to understand the connections between them.\u201d<\/p>\n