Forty-five men, including CEOs, engineers and car dealership owners, were arrested in an undercover human trafficking sting at an Oakland County hotel, ClickOnDetroit reported Tuesday, Aug. 11.
The Oakland County Sheriff's Office task force says it has filed 57 felony charges and 19 misdemeanor charges to date. In one recent operation, investigators made contact with 45 different men in just five hours.
The timing was deliberate. The operation coincided with the week of the Woodward Dream Cruise, scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 15, when law enforcement says traffickers set up operations in hotels and Airbnbs along the Woodward corridor. The annual cruise draws visitors from around the country to communities along Woodward Avenue in Oakland County.
Det. Sgt. Mike Miles, commander of the Oakland County Sheriff's Office human trafficking unit, said most of the men arrested are married and span blue-collar and white-collar professions.
"A lot of the reaction is, 'Oh my gosh, my family might find out about this, my wife might find out about this,'" Miles told ClickOnDetroit. "We've had them, they took their family, dropped them off at a wedding, and he left the reception to come to our hotel and he's now realizing, 'Uh oh, my family's going to know I left the reception to go here.'"
Miles said many of the men did not realize the women they were meeting had been forced into the situation by traffickers, who often pose as the women online and communicate with buyers directly.
The task force's strategy targets not only traffickers but also the buyers who bankroll trafficking operations. Cindy Brown, chief of the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office Human Trafficking Division, said investigators use technology to track traffickers across commercial sex websites nationwide, allowing them to identify victims beyond those found during a single sting.
The Oakland County Human Trafficking Task Force, created in 2015, includes officers from the Southfield Police Department, Auburn Hills Police Department and the Oakland County Sheriff's Office. Michigan State Police and Rochester Police are expected to join soon.
Local connection
The sting underscores ongoing anti-trafficking work in the Farmington Hills area. In March 2025, Farmington Hills police, working with the Westland Police Department and the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, arrested Zixuan Wan, 44, of Livonia on human trafficking charges tied to unlicensed massage businesses in Farmington Hills, Westland and Commerce Township. Officers seized approximately $140,000 in cash and several firearms, and multiple trafficking survivors were found at the businesses.
That investigation began after Farmington Hills officers attended an Oakland County Prosecutor's Office training course on detecting human trafficking in November 2024.
How to report
Residents who suspect human trafficking activity can call the Oakland County Human Trafficking Prevention TIP Line at 248-858-0411 or email [email protected]. In emergencies, call 911.
