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A Bay Area task force identified 53 human trafficking survivors and arrested 25 suspected traffickers during the six matches at Levi’s Stadium for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday.
The task force consisted of an 11-county regional response team of law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, social workers and advocacy organizations. The team was led by the Santa Clara County Human Trafficking Task Force and the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center, which monitors human trafficking within the Bay Area.
During the six World Cup matches at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, the task force conducted 66 separate operations, prosecutors said. Of the 53 survivors identified and offered support, 42 were adults and 11 were minors. In addition, officers cited 41 sex buyers.
“We are proud that Santa Clara County showcased itself to the world so well and so safely, and with one voice declared our intolerance for the illegal trafficking of human beings,” Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “We are standing with the survivors and providing them support and services so that they can go on to live a life free of cruel criminal exploitation.”
The District Attorney’s Office said the task force used regional coordination to combine intelligence and investigative resources and act quickly during the operations. In one case, undercover investigators sent decoy messages to suspected traffickers, leading 13 to be arrested at various hotels on suspicion of felony pandering.
The task force connected all identified survivors with community organizations, including Community Solutions and YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley. They were offered confidential individualized help, safety planning, emergency supplies and temporary housing.
According to prosecutors, the World Cup operation was built upon a similar regional effort at Levi’s Stadium for the Super Bowl in February. Law enforcement agencies arrested 29 suspected traffickers and identified 73 survivors, including 10 minors, with one girl as young as 12 years old.
The World Cup operation was made up of police departments, human trafficking task forces and sheriff’s offices from cities including San Jose, San Mateo, San Francisco, Mountain View, Hayward, Campbell and Union City. Additionally, the FBI, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Department of State Diplomatic Security Service and California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation assisted in the operation.
