FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – An undercover sting operation in Clovis ends with six men arrested and charged with human trafficking.

The suspects ranged from 26 to 42 years old.

Officials want parents and young women to be cautious because these suspects are all men that live in the area trying to solicit young women.

“This is very scary, this is something that we want people to be very aware,” said Lt. Jim Coch with Clovis Police.

These are the men arrested on human trafficking charges.

Lt. Coch says officers with Clovis police department’s special enforcement team along with members of the D-O-J and Fresno’s “Magec” team helped take these men off the streets.

“Social media is a huge part of all of this and it’s unfortunate that there are people out there right now that prey on people that are on social media,” added Coch.

Lt. Coch says undercover investigators posed as women online and all the suspects made contact with the fake accounts.

The men believed they were meeting the young girls at a Clovis hotel and when they showed up, officers took them into custody.

“A lot of them were validated gang members and we know that in these types of cases, they use the money that they raise in these for criminal activity, like producing drugs or other illegal activities,” he added.

Officers say one of the men had a loaded gun and cocaine on him.

“They have the ability to make a lot of money off of these women and once they get involved in it, it’s very difficult for them to get out of it,” said Coch. 

Coch says men like these target women and young girls between 12 and 20 years old- and try to contact them on social media but sometimes it could be in person; at malls, group homes, and even schools.

“When we have events like this we realize how close to home these hit and we want people to be educated about them and we want parents to be educated about what their kids are doing,” he said.

All six men are facing felony charges related to human trafficking, they were booked into the Fresno county jail.