By Khalida Sarwari
Three San Jose residents were arrested this week for bringing over people from Spain to work in the South Bay against their will, including at a restaurant and hair salon in Saratoga.
The arrests took place on the evening of Nov. 17 upon the execution of search warrants at a residence in San Jose, along with TapaOle on Cox Avenue and Utopik Salon on Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road, by investigators with the Law Enforcement Investigating Human Trafficking, a task force comprised of members of the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, district attorney’s office, and the FBI.
The suspects have been identified as Paulino O’Farrill, 47, and Pedro Barea-Riva and Esther Narbona-Sanchez, both 44. All three were booked into Santa Clara County main jail.
According to the sheriff’s office, officers began investigating the case in July after several people came forward saying they were victims of human trafficking. The investigation revealed six people were brought into the country from Spain to work at a restaurant and hair salon owned by O’Farrill, Barea-Riva and Narbona-Sanchez.
The laborers are all adults. Three are human trafficking victims, and three are wage theft victims. They were removed from the businesses and offered resources through the South Bay Coalition to End Human Trafficking, a local group that responds to human trafficking cases in Santa Clara County. The coalition will assist victims with counseling, housing and assistance with immigration guidance.
Anyone with any information about the case is asked to contact the Law Enforcement Investigating Human Trafficking task force at 408.918.4960 orhumantrafficking@sheriff.sccgov.org.
