In an effort to help raise awareness about human trafficking along America’s roadways, Pilot Flying J has partnered with Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) to expand education for employees and outreach to customers.

“The Pilot Flying J family, made up of our employees, our customers, our vendors and other business partners, has the opportunity to help shut down human trafficking along our nation’s highways,” said Pilot Flying J CEO Jimmy Haslam. “Our associates, professional drivers and the motoring public can take a stand by keeping our eyes and ears open for trafficking red flags. And, with one simple phone call, we can help keep our roadways safe and free of crime and, most importantly, save lives.”

Pilot Flying J posted information from TAT in its more than 550 travel centers and travel plazas across the U.S. These posters provide the National Hotline number that individuals should call to provide an anonymous tip if they witness or suspect human trafficking. The number is 1-888-373-7888.

Professional drivers are encouraged to pick up a TAT wallet card at Pilot Flying J locations, which along with the National Hotline number, provides an email contact, tips on trafficking red flags and specific information to provide to law enforcement with each tip.

Pilot Flying J also now includes general training about human trafficking and TAT resources to all company employees.

Some of the human trafficking red flags that Truckers Against Trafficking recommends to look for include people exhibiting:

• Lack of knowledge of their community or whereabouts
• Lack of control of own identification documents (ID/passport)
• Restricted or controlled communication – not allowed to speak for self
• Demeanor: fear, anxiety, depression, submissive, tense, nervous

The timing of Pilot Flying J’s plans to utilize TAT training materials coincides with recent legislation in Tennessee aimed at stopping human trafficking in the company’s home state. Headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., Pilot Flying J supports the state law ratified in June that requires certain businesses, including travel centers and travel plazas, to post a sign with information regarding the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline.

“We’re very proud to support the work of Truckers Against Trafficking and do our part to help,” Jimmy Haslam said. “The trucking industry is a family of caring individuals, and together we’re millions of people who can be part of the solution to a devastating problem.”

The National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) has received more than 125 calls from professional drivers, and of these, more than 60% resulted from awareness and outreach efforts conducted by TAT. Of the cases reported by truckers referencing trafficking, approximately 62% involved potential minors in human trafficking situations.

The TAT initiative has a four-fold purpose: to educate members of the trucking/travel plaza industry about human trafficking and the role they can play in fighting it; equip them with tools; empower them with steps to take; and mobilize them to take a stand against one of the world’s most lucrative and destructive crimes. The initiative includes a website, www.truckersagainsttrafficking.com, with resources such as videos, webinars, Human Trafficking 101 classes and more.

Human trafficking, a term for modern-day slavery, is a $32-billion worldwide industry with more than 27 million people enslaved in the world today. In the United States, it has been reported in all 50 states, and the number of victims is estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands.

For more information about Pilot Flying J, visit www.pilotflyingj.com.

About Pilot Flying J

Pilot Flying J is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, and has more than 550 retail locations across North America. Pilot Flying J is also one of the nation’s largest wholesale fuel providers, delivering over 500 million gallons of fuel to thousands of customers in 47 states and eight Canadian provinces. The company employs approximately 18,000 people and is the largest operator of travel centers and travel plazas in North America.

# # #

Truck drivers truly are everyday heroes!

TAT organization is partnering with Carols Travel Time to offer a cruise designed for truckers with a heart. The cruise is sailing from Tampa, Florida to the Western Caribbean on May 6, 2012 for seven fun-filled days of blue waters and great ports of call, such as Belize, Grand Cayman and Mahogany Bay. Guest host for the cruise is the nationally acclamied performing artist, Joey Holiday. As Carol Cipriano says, “Let someone else take the wheel.”

Besides having a great time with a great guest host, truckers will be donating money to a great cause – Truckers Against Trafficking. Part of the price of the cruise goes to the organization to educate and help save victims from human trafficking. Info at www.truckersagainsttrafficking.com.

For more information about the cruise, go to www.TATcruise.com, call Carol Cipriano at 570-470-0034 or email Carol at carolstraveltime@gmail.com.

Producing Child Pornography; Aiding and Abetting the Production of Child Pornography; Unlawfully Possessing a Firearm; Engaging in Sex Trafficking of a Minor; Aiding and Abetting Sex Trafficking of a Minor

Eric Antwan Bell

Aliases: “Santana,” Eric Dean, Anthony Ellis, Laveric Santana, Laverick Santana, Kelly Thomas

Date(s) of Birth Used: March 11, 1974

Place of Birth: Tallahassee, FL

Height: 5′8″

Weight: 190 lbs

NCIC: W051895955

Occupation: Long Haul Truck Driver

Hair: Black

Eyes: Brown

Sex: Male

Race: Black

Nationality: American

Scars and Marks: Bell has a tattoo on his chest. He also has scars on his right finger, right hand, and right elbow.

Remarks: Bell allegedly makes false identification. Bell has ties to the New York and New Jersey areas; and Gainseville, Tallahassee and Bradenton, FL.

CAUTION:

Eric Antwan Bell, a convicted felon, is wanted for his alleged involvement in the sex trafficking of minors in the Tampa, FL area. It is alleged that Bell had underage girls working for him from his residence since 2008, and advertised them for prostitution on the Internet. A local, state, and federal multi-agency task force initiated an investigation in 2009. On January 3, 2011, a federal warrant was issued for Bell’s arrest by the United States District Count, Middle District of Florida, Tampa, Florida, after he was charged federally with producing child pornography, aiding and abetting the production of child pornography, unlawfully possessing a firearm, engaging in sex trafficking of a minor, and aiding and abetting sex trafficking of a minor.

REWARD:

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to Bell’s arrest.

SHOULD BE CONSIDERED ARMED AND DANGEROUS

If you have any information concerning this person, please contact the FBI’s toll free number 1-866-838-1153 in Tampa, FL; your local FBI office; or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.

Field Office: Tampa

See picture on HOW TO HELP page

For the rest of this story, please follow this LINK to Polaris Project’s webpage.

Polaris Project has been awarded the highest rating of 4 stars by Charity Navigator for 3 consecutive years for being fiscally responsible and financially healthy.

If you are a victim of human trafficking and need immediate help or if you suspect a potential trafficking situation, call the hotline at 1-888-3737-888 now.

The National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) works to improve the national response to protect victims of human trafficking in the United States. The NHTRC runs a national, toll-free hotline available to answer calls from anywhere in the country, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year. Contact the NHTRC to report a tip; to connect with anti-trafficking resources in your area; or to request training and technical assistance, general information or specific anti-trafficking resources. The NHTRC is operated by Polaris Project and funded by the Department of Health and Human Services and other supporters.
Sex Trafficking at Truck Stops

• Take away: Truckers Against Trafficking is successfully reaching a population that provides valuable intelligence about sex trafficking, frequently of minors. Their work is generating frequent hotline calls about a network that would go unreported without trucker engagement. The National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) has received over 125 calls from Truck Drivers. Of these, more than 60% resulted from awareness and outreach efforts conducted by Truckers Against Trafficking.
• Truckers Against Trafficking has conducted targeted awareness efforts about human trafficking and the NHTRC hotline through radio programs and ads, newsletters and articles, their website, and other mediums.
• Approximately 42% of hotline calls from truckers are tips about potential human trafficking; in comparison, 15% of all hotline calls are classified as tips. In another 33% of calls, truckers called requested general information about human trafficking; many of these truckers later call to report trafficking.
• Of the cases reported by truckers referencing trafficking, approximately 62% involved potential minors in sex trafficking situations. Pimp control sex trafficking was the most common type of trafficking reported by truckers, and was reported in 58% of the calls referencing trafficking.
• Take away: Truckers Against Trafficking is successfully reaching a population that provides valuable intelligence about sex trafficking, frequently of minors. Their work is generating frequent hotline calls about a network that would go unreported without trucker engagement.
Vignette: While driving through Flagstaff, Arizona late at night, a trucker pulled over at a truck stop near the highway. The driver observed a man who appeared to be in his late thirties with a young girl who appeared to be around 13 years old. At first the driver didn’t think anything was wrong, but after observing the man and the young girl approach several other truckers, the driver became increasingly suspicious. The driver spoke with one of the other truckers, who told him that the man with the young girl was offering to sell her for commercial sex to the various truckers they had approached. The driver decided to contact the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC), since he had heard about the human trafficking hotline on a radio spot by Truckers Against Trafficking. After receiving the driver’s report, the NHTRC reported the information to a federal law enforcement taskforce that works specifically on cases of commercial sexual exploitation of children.