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By Buzz Trexler

Star Correspondent

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation undercover operations in Middle and East Tennessee, including the Johnson City area, have resulted in nine men being arrested on charges related to human trafficking, according to releases.

 A two-day operation that began on Aug. 21 in the Johnson City area targeted individuals seeking to engage in sex acts with minors. Officers placed several decoy advertisements on websites known to be linked to prostitution and commercial sex, according to a release, and the investigation resulted in the arrest of three men who were booked into the Washington County Jail:

 • Dwight Rooker, 25, of Johnson City, was charged with one count of trafficking for a commercial sex act and one count of solicitation of a minor. His bond was set at $51,000.

 • Joseph Payne, 60, of Gray, was charged with two counts of trafficking for a commercial sex act. His bond was set at $50,000.

 • Joshua Johnson, 42, of Prairieville, La., was charged with one count of trafficking for a commercial sex act. His bond was set at $25,000.

 A similar two-day undercover operation in the Montgomery County area resulted in the arrest of six men who were booked into the Montgomery County Jail:

 • Franklin Poe, 25, of Memphis, was charged with two counts of trafficking for sexual servitude. His bond was set at $15,000.

 • Andre Johnson, 34, of Fort Campbell, Ky., was charged with one count each of possession of a firearm during commission of a dangerous felony, solicitation of a minor, and trafficking for sexual servitude. His bond was set at $145,000.

 • Dashuan Ramey, 32, of Clarksville, was charged with one count of trafficking for sexual servitude. His bond was set at $20,500.

  • James Francis, 32, of Clarksville, was charged with one count of promoting prostitution. His bond was set at $25,000.

 • Patrick Kugler, 29, of Clarksville, was charged with one count of trafficking for sexual servitude. His bond was set at $5,000.

 • Anthony Rice, 32, of Clarksville, was charged with two counts of trafficking for sexual servitude. His bond was set at $5,000.

 In the Montgomery County area operation, law enforcement officials reached out to ads that had been placed on websites linked to prostitution and commercial sex ads, according to a TBI release. Seven people were recovered as potential victims of human trafficking and were offered services through a human trafficking service organization.

 TBI agents with the agency’s Human Trafficking Unit were assisted in the operations by the Tennessee Human Trafficking Task Force, the Johnson City Police Department, the Office of the 1st Judicial District Attorney General, Homeland Security Investigations, Clarksville Police Department, and the Office of the 19th Judicial District Attorney General.

 The TBI Human Trafficking Unit was created following a 2011 TBI and Vanderbilt University study that addressed human trafficking in the state, according to a 2023 TBI report. Legislation was passed giving the TBI original jurisdiction over human trafficking offenses.

 In 2016, the agency received 245 hotline calls and tips regarding human trafficking; in 2022, that number had risen to 1,291. In 2023, Middle Tennessee led the state’s regions in hotline calls and tips, with Upper East Tennessee following close behind, according to the report. In 2023, minor sex trafficking far exceeded other forms of trafficking reported.

 Information about human trafficking and TBI’s efforts to address this type of crime can be found online at www.ITHasToStop.com.