Regional Industry & News

2 Baldwin men charged in sex trafficking scheme involving coded business cards

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - A federal grand jury has indicted two Baldwin County men on sex trafficking charges, alleging that they ferried women from Georgia to the Gulf Coast to have sex for money.

Prosecutors allege that the Foley men used coded language on business cards to advertise sex services, using the cover of a food delivery business.

Obeth Quiahua Acahua, 30, and Felix Albino Lopez Acahua, 21, are scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court next week for an arraignment. Obeth Acahua stands charged with transporting a person in interstate commerce for purposes of prostitution and conspiracy to do so. Felix Acahua is charged with the conspiracy count and with being an illegal immigrant in possession of a firearm. Court records show that during an interrogation by federal agents, he admitted that he illegally crossed into the United States from Mexico and, therefore, was not allowed to have a gun.

An affidavit signed by a Homeland Security Investigations agent indicates that the agency received information in March that a person was visiting construction worksites in Baldwin County and handing out business cards. Those cards read, in Spanish, “Delivery service. Do you want to see the menu?”

The agent wrote in the affidavit that the business cards were code for setting up meetings with prostitutes. People who sent messages to a phone number printed on the card received an invitation to a WhatsApp group or a photo of a scantily clad woman. Screenshots of WhatsApp conversations indicated a customer could have a woman for 15 minutes for $60, and each week would feature a different woman.

Investigators tracked the number to a cell phone registered to Obeth Acahua and then watched him drive around Baldwin County with a woman in the passenger seat, according to court documents. The woman would go inside a home for about 15 minutes and then return.

“This pattern would repeat over the course of the day,” the agent wrote in his affidavit.

Law enforcement officers pulled over Obeth Acahua on May 5 and found that a woman in the vehicle had five warrants for prostitution from New York.

Throughout May and June, Obeth Acahua, Felix Acahua or both drove women to multiple locations for 15-minute stops, according to the criminal complaint.

The affidavit lists other activity documented during surveillance:

- A stop on June 4 at a motel in Chickasaw.

- Multiple stops on June 23 at multiple places in Florida.

- A stop at an apartment complex in Saraland on July 13.

At that point, according to the Homeland Security Investigations narrative, agents arranged for a confidential informant to set up a meeting with a woman on July 15. Agents filmed Felix Acahua handing Obeth Acahua what appeared to be a large amount of cash. Later that day, a woman arrived at the agreed-upon location in Pensacola. The affidavit states the woman removed her underwear and discussed prices with the informant.

The next day, agents searched the defendants’ trailer home in Foley and found a gun registered to Felix Acahua. He initially told agents that he discovered the weapon in his room, threw it away, but then changed his mind and retrieved it, according to the criminal complaint.

During questioning by investigators, Obeth Acahua provided details about the operation. He told investigators that he would travel to Georgia and bring women to Alabama for prostitution and then return them to Georgia. He said Felix Acahua accompanied him three times. Investigators found ledgers documenting payments, the criminal complaint states.

A judge has ordered both men detained. They are scheduled to appear for an arraignment hearing on Wednesday. The transportation charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. If convicted of the gun charge, Felix Acahua faces up to 15 years in prison.