Law enforcement officials on Tuesday announced that seven individuals were indicted in connection with two separate human trafficking enterprises in North and South Jersey.

According to the indictments, one ring was based in Essex County where a suspected female trafficker allegedly used physical violence against teenage victims. Beatings with an electrical cord and other acts of physical violence were employed to control the teenage victims and subject them to sexual assaults by strangers, officials said.

Meanwhile, an investigation into a Cumberland County-based ring found new groups of women were being brought to a house of prostitution in Bridgeton every week. In that case, law enforcement also seized large amounts of methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana, along with over $50,000 cash from the brothel.

“We are committed to relentlessly pursuing justice for those who have been affected by these crimes,” said J. Stephen Ferketic, director of the state’s Division of Criminal Justice. “Law enforcement agencies across our state are committed to doing all that we can to investigate and vigorously prosecute human traffickers.”

In announcing the indictments, state Attorney General Matthew Platkin said: “There is no tolerance for the exploitation of anyone, especially in this dehumanizing way. My office has made the investigation and prosecution of human trafficking a top priority…We will investigate, and we will prosecute.”

The indictments come just before the second anniversary of the state’s new human trafficking unit. Formed in January 2023, the unit has been charged with aggressively pursuing criminal networks that traffic individuals and exploit them for profit. The unit’s members train and assist law enforcement in methods of identifying victims and signs of trafficking and coordinate statewide efforts in identifying and providing services to victims.

“We do this work for the victims, for the survivors, for those who deserve justice and dignity and who deserve to be treated like human beings,” said Platkin. “We fight for everyone who has survived human trafficking, but also those who are working to rebuild their lives one step and one day at a time.”

According to national data, 170 human trafficking cases were identified in New Jersey in 2023 just from calls to the National Human Trafficking Hotline alone.