Nine people were arrested in early February in a multi-agency operation aimed at capturing sex offenders in the Tucson area.

The operation, which took place between January 31 and February 3, involved law enforcement personnel posing as children between the ages of 7 and 16 in online chat rooms. When they were children, they met with adults in Tucson and agreed to engage in sexual acts, according to a Tucson Police Department news release.

The suspects were arrested when they arrived to meet the child they had been chatting with online.

Of those arrested, eight were men and one was a woman between the ages of 25 and 49. Charges include enticement of a minor for sexual exploitation, aggravated enticement of a minor for sexual exploitation, child sex trafficking, and attempted sexual activity with a child. Transportation of minors, solicitation of sexual acts with minors, pandering to minors, and transportation of persons for the purpose of prostitution.

The four-day operation was a joint effort between Tucson Police Department, Oro Valley Police Department, Marana Police Department, Pima County Sheriff's Department, Department of Public Safety, Pima County Attorney's Office, Arizona Attorney General's Office, Chandler Police Department, Tempe Police Department, and Phoenix Police Department. Ta. Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Marshals Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Zero Abuse Project.