Fifty people were arrested in Arlington and Fort Worth in June and July on suspicion of solicitation of prostitution or attempting to meet a minor for sex acts, law enforcement authorities said on Monday.
Undercover officers posed online as sex workers and teenagers and responded to messages that were sent by the suspects, who were arrested when they arrived to meet for sex, authorities said.
The arrest series, known as Operation Red Card, took place at the same time as FIFA World Cup games were being played in Arlington, but the connection between the competition and the suspects is not clear.
Most of the people who were arrested live in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, said Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn, who announced the arrests. Most of the cases will be prosecuted in state district court.
Some of the solicitation of prostitution arrests were made after face to face encounters with undercover officers in Arlington.
Forty of the people were arrested on suspicion of solicitation of prostitution. Ten allegedly tried to meet a minor for the purpose of engaging in sex. The suspects believed they were to meet children ranging in age from 4 to 15, the sheriff’s office said.
Eliezer Perez messaged an undercover U.S. Secret Service analyst who was posing on the hookup app Sniffies as a 14-year-old boy, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court.
The undercover analyst noted in a message that his fictitious 4-year-old brother would be home the next day, when the Perez meeting was expected. Perez expressed interest in a sex act with the younger boy, according to a transcript of the message that is included in the complaint. The undercover analyst asked if Perez would bring the 4-year-old a KitKat bar and apple juice if he planned to “play” with the younger boy. When Perez arrived on July 9 at an Arlington apartment complex for the meeting, he had a KitKat bar, apple juice and a bottle of lubricant, according to the complaint.
At a press conference, Arlington Police Department Sgt. Tarik Muslimovic described in what way some of the investigations developed.
“During the operation, undercover officers from multiple agencies posed as sex workers online. If a suspect contacted them and agreed to pay for a sex act, the undercover officer would direct the individual to a location in Arlington. We then had officers waiting at the location that would take those individuals in custody.”
The people who were arrested on suspicion of online solicitation of a minor are Perez, Jackie Davidson, Aaron Styles, Oscar Nunez, Bryan Sanchez, Bradley Anderson, Antonio Rodriguez, Estifano Gebremelecot, Pavan Kothapalli and Samuel Morales.
Nunez is a Fort Worth firefighter, according to the sheriff’s office.
Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn speaks about Operation Red Card, which led to dozens of arrests, including several suspects charged with solicitation of a minor. Local, state and federal law enforcement including Fort Worth and Arlington police were involved in the human trafficking investigation this summer during the World Cup. Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office
At the press conference, Waybourn addressed others who have been elusive.
“And for the traffickers that are still out there, that are still operating, you chuckleheads, we are coming for you because we will not tolerate that in the greater Tarrant County area.”
This story was originally published August 18, 2026 at 5:26 PM.
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Emerson Clarridge covers crime and other breaking news for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He works days and reports on law enforcement affairs in Tarrant County. He previously was a reporter at the Omaha World-Herald and the Observer-Dispatch in Utica, New York.