15 Women Rescued, 13 Charged After Bust Of Human Trafficking Ring In NJ

BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ — At least 15 women were rescued, and more than a dozen people were charged after the bust of a human trafficking ring, the New Jersey Attorney General's Office said.

The range of charges brought against the group of 13 New Jersey residents includes racketeering, conspiracy, human trafficking, and various drug offenses.

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Beginning in January of 2025 through the present, the New Jersey State Police's Human Trafficking Unit (HTU) was looking into activities across multiple counties.

Authorities found that Shalaby Hicks, 48, of Pennsauken, and Nathaniel Clay, 49, of Mount Laurel, ran the "program" in which women would engage in commercial sex acts and give all of the money to them.

Hicks and Clay paid for lodging, food, transportation, controlled dangerous substances (CDS), and other "necessities."

The two also distributed CDS, according to authorities.

Clients were found through advertisements of the women for commercial sex acts that were listed on websites like skipthegames.com and megapersonals.eu.

The women were also forced to list online advertisements for themselves. They were also to provide CDS for clients who wanted to purchase them.

Hicks would cook the cocaine into crack cocaine and bag it for distribution from his operation out of a Pennsauken hotel.

Both men and women were used to handle the CDS, coordinate the money, and enforce the rules of the operation.

Clay operated out of a Maple Shade hotel and used male managers to provide transportation, CDS, and protection on-site.

He also had a handgun when he was arrested, officials added.

On May 7, a warrant was carried out for a hotel room associated with the operation that led authorities to around eight ounces of suspected crack cocaine, five ounces of fentanyl, and around four ounces of methamphetamine.

Drug paraphernalia and around $5,000 in cash were also confiscated.

Bernard Dandridge, 56, of Sicklerville, was one of the cocaine suppliers for the group, according to officials.

He used his home to manufacture the drug and was arrested with 14 ounces of cocaine, two handguns, and an assault ghost gun rifle on him.

Warrants were also carried out at three homes and two other hotels, which led to the rescue of 15 victims.

All of the listed first-degree crimes carry sentences of between 10 and 20 years in jail, and a fine of up to $200,000.

The second-degree charges come with a potential sentence of five to 10 years in jail and a fine of up to $150,000, while the third-degree offenses are punishable by three to five years and up to $15,000.

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