"you know you're under arrest for patronizing a prostitute? yes sir." kob eyewitness news 4 is right there as undercover detectives target prostitution on albuquerque streets. we were the only crew there-- as police set up in one of the busiest areas of town for prostitution. our kayla anderson is here with a rare look at how things unfolded. i was invited to set up at central and florida-- with a team of undercover detectives, in undercover vehicles-- keeping a close watch on a detective posing as a prostitute. in just over three hours yesterday evening-- police arrested nine people. at one point-- it was so busy-- three people tried to pick up the detective within just thirty seconds. an undercover female detective paces central. she's ready for anything. "when it comes to sex and drugs, nothing really shocks you." we watched as car after car goes by.. doing what detectives call sharking. the johns - or people looking for sex are scoping out the area, checking out the girls, gathering the courage to make an offer. "you'll help me out? what do you want?" detectives are all around. but they're good at what they do-- so you can't see them. and that's the point. they're just seconds away-- listing to a mic on the decoy detective. "she'll get the john and once they have date, she'll give us the signal that a date's been made, there's been a criminal violation. she'll direct the john to a specific area that we've designated here." at the busiest point in their operation-- the decoy gets three dates-- in less than thirty seconds. "they just get so fixated, they kind of have tunnel vision on a girl. a lot of times we take other people down right around them, and they never even notice." one of those dates was a couple. "the lady threw out 40. he threw out 20, when price was discussed. i honestly thought it was a mom buying for her son, which kind of surprised me. but i guess it was a husband and wife." detectives test the wife for drunk driving-- and we find open containers in their car. they're both under arrest. and so is this guy. "turn around. walk backwards toward my voice." not only does he have a court- ordered ignition interlock on his car.... but he drops another bomb as he's placed in cuffs. "can i be honest with you? i'm on probation, man." detectives are also looking for real prostitutes. some of them work the streets so often-- detectives know them by name. like this woman-- police arrested her just last week. now they find her heading into a hotel-- after making a deal-- a hundred dollars for sex. "you know you're under arrest for patronizing a prostitute? yes sir." she wouldn't tell us how many johns she meets a week-- but did say she doesn't know how she'll ever be able to stop. "i have a three year old girl that i take care of." detectives tell me prostitution also causes problems for nearby neighborhoods ... because the so- called "dates" will often take place in a car, in someone's driveway
