Five men were arrested following the execution of a search warrant on Wednesday at a property in Antioch, Tennessee, by state-federal law enforcement agencies, including the Metro Nashville Police Department, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), and the FBI.
The search warrant and arrests were first announced on social media by MNPD on Monday when the department confirmed the five arrests were part of “an ongoing human trafficking investigation” and the residence “is a suspected brothel.”
MNPD spokesman Don Aaron told The Tennessee Star the men are believed to be from Venezuela, but he did not clarify whether they are illegal immigrants, or when they entered the United States, prior to press time.
The reported names of the men arrested at the alleged brothel are 31-year-old Gianfranco Augusto Barazarte-Morales, 27-year-old Felix Rafael Ortega, 27-year-old Elmer Humberto Aparicio-Castillo, 22-year-old Idenis Alexander Sanchez-Paredes, and 37-year-old Wilfredo Jose Mata-Fornerino.
All of the men are charged with promoting prostitution, while some of them are also charged with possessing various drugs and felony gun possession.
During a Wednesday press conference, Aaron said the investigation involves human trafficking in Tennessee, which led to the discovery of the apparent brothel, located on a five-acre property in Antioch.
The suspects fled police during the search, and Aaron additionally stated that police accused one of the suspects, Barazarte-Morales, of shooting two people last September.
According to the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO), all five of the men are ineligible for release from jail, as they are each held on an immigration detainer, as requested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The agency can request local law enforcement detain “potentially dangerous noncitizens” for an additional 48 hours to allow the federal agency to take custody of the suspects.
These arrests come only weeks after TBI Director David Rausch confirmed the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua is now present in all of Tennessee’s major cities and after TBI told The Star that gang members travel between metropolitan areas, engaged in human trafficking operations throughout the state.
TBI, the chief law enforcement agency that investigates human trafficking in Tennessee, did not immediately respond to a press inquiry from The Star to clarify whether the five men arrested at the alleged brothel are connected to the Venezuelan gang. HSI similarly did not immediately respond to a press inquiry.
One member of the Venezuelan gang was arrested in Hamilton County as the result of a human trafficking investigation in November.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
