Vermont AG, US attorney to fight human trafficking

The Vermont attorney general's office and the United States attorney for the state have formalized a plan to work together to fight human trafficking.

The two offices, which have been working for years to combat human trafficking, announced Tuesday that they had signed a memorandum of understanding to create the Vermont Human Trafficking Task Force, which will combat human trafficking affecting the state and its residents.

Human trafficking is the act of compelling a person by force, fraud, or coercion to provide labor or a commercial sex act.

U.S. Attorney Christina Nolan says drug dealers sometimes coerce addicts to perform commercial sex acts for the benefit of the dealers' illegal organizations.

She says it's one of the most dangerous, but least understood aspects of the opioid trade.