Human trafficking arrest made in Muncie Sunday

Source: WISH-TV

MUNCIE, Ind. (WISH) — A DUI stop in Muncie brought deputies to a man that’s linked to human trafficking from Mexico. Police say that the man forced the migrants to work in local restaurants to pay him off.

The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office said their deputies pulled an erratic driver over Sunday evening, around 9:46 p.m., near North Martin Luther King Boulevard and West Waid Avenue. The Muncie driver, 50-year-old Sergio Velasco Mil, was drunk driving and had a fake ID.

Velasco Mil admitted to the Sheriff’s Office that he paid for trafficking people from Mexico to Indiana. Forced to work at a local restaurant, the people had to pay their debts back Velasco Mil with interest.

When he was arrested, Velasco Mil had “nearly $20,000 in cash, which he stated was collected as payment from these individuals,” Chief Deputy Jeff Stanley said in a release.

The Sheriff’s Office said they are working with ICE and the Department of Homeland Security to investigate this case.

Velasco Mil faces 10 charges, including human trafficking, forgery, and driving while intoxicated.