In this episode, we're going to be talking about a national crisis that's happening right under our noses, in our backyards—human trafficking. What exactly is human trafficking? Well, many people still think of it as women being smuggled in a van across the border and forced into sexual servitude in a modern-day brothel. To be clear, this still happens. But what's more common is a business that's operating in plain sight, massage parlors that seem legitimate, but they're not. In most cases, the only way to disband these businesses and free these women, because most of the victims are women, is to catch the people who are operating them.

It's estimated that there are 13,000 illegal massage businesses operating across the country, in every single state. They generate an estimated 5 billion dollars a year in revenue. So, whose is responsible for stopping these businesses from operating? Police departments don't usually have the manpower or the time to handle these cases because there are so many. In addition, the business owners usually face light penalties and often reopen their illegal establishments quickly even after they've been charged. Plus, the ugly truth is that the employees often face penalties for prostitution even in this day and age when we know they are victims of sex trafficking. And even if employees aren't charged, they're reluctant to testify against the business owners for fear of retribution making these cases very difficult to prosecute.

Our guest for this episode has dedicated much of his attention and energy to shining a light on human trafficking and sharing the information with law enforcement partners so they can properly charge people, prosecute them, and disband these businesses for good. Mike Longmire says these businesses represent organized crime and require community outrage to run them out of town.