lucrative. >> alvarez's task force is one of the nation's most progressive law enforcement efforts in the fight against traffickers. >> today we are announcing the result of a long-term undercover investigation. >> in the summer of 2011 operation little girl lost culminated with a massive takedown of a gang-related pimping ring. it is the largest human trafficking case in illinois's history. >> this operation targeted gang members who sex trafficked children and young women, some as young as the age of 12. >> each of the ten defendants faces over 20 counts of human trafficking. >> this is something that we take very seriously. we're going to continue to work up these cases, use the tools that we now have, and hopefully we're going to be convicting the bad guys. >> but long before the lights and the cameras of a high-profile press conference comes the nitty-gritty of good policework. >> a lot of the public believe that it's a victimless crime.