A massive prostitution ring spanning the Bay Area was busted Thursday when 125 law enforcement officers from six cities, three counties and the federal government descended on 10 locations, served search and arrest warrants and arrested eight people on charges of operating the ring.

An 11-year-old girl from Berkeley who was cajoled by relatives to sell her body on the streets for money is one rescued victim. An abducted 15-year old from Oakland is another. A 16-year-old from Colorado who befriended a pimp and wound up trapped in an Oakland hotel by day and forced to work the streets by night – until police rescued her – is another.

These young girls and others have been rescued from human traffickers and life on the streets through a collaborative effort by the Alameda County District Attorney’s office, the Oakland Police Department, a half-a-dozen nonprofit agencies, the county’s Family Justice Center and law enforcement in nearby cities.  So crucial has collaboration been at catching traffickers and bringing safety to their victims that the county D.A.’s office launched a campaign, H.E.A.T. Watch - HEAT stands for human exploitation and trafficking - to widen the collaboration to include businesses, neighborhood groups and law enforcement across multiple jurisdictions.