The depressed economy could make more people vulnerable to forced labor, human trafficking and related crimes, city officials and activists said today.

“Los Angeles happens to be one of the hot spots,” City Councilman Tony Cardenas said. ” In Los Angeles, upwards of eight out of 10 victims are either Asian or East Asian or Latino. They’re being brought here on the promise of living and great life, and then when they get here, they’re enslaved.”

The news conference was held on the 15th anniversary of a slavery case in El Monte, in which 72 people from Thailand were made to work up to 20 hours a day in a makeshift garment factory.

The Los Angeles-based Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking said its case load increased by 200 percent last year. About 60 percent of the cases involved forced labor, while 37 percent involved commercial sex trafficking. Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said the department’s Metropolitan Task Force on Human Trafficking has led more than 30 investigations during its five years.

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