Human trafficking, sex and drug crimes alleged

Larry Daniel Moore

    Human trafficking, sex and drug related charges against a Whiteville area man have followed a three-month Columbus County Sheriff’s Office investigation, an agency news release said Tuesday.
    Larry Daniel Moore, 55, of 46 Stanley Circle, was arrested Monday, charged with two counts of aiding and abetting prostitution; single counts of human trafficking; sexual servitude; promoting prostitution for profit; felony cocaine possession; possession with intent to manufacture, sell, and/or deliver controlled substances; maintaining a vehicle or dwelling for the use, sale or storage of controlled substances; and possession of drug paraphernalia.
    Moore was jailed at the Columbus County Detention Center under bonds totaling $535,500.
    Vice/Narcotics Unit detectives said their investigation focused on crimes in the Whiteville and Brunswick areas of Columbus County, with cocaine and other drugs distributed in a broader area in the county, sheriff’s spokeswoman Michelle Tatum said in the news release.
    Detectives allege that Moore “recruited and harbored individuals for sexual servitude,” Tatum said. “He also advanced and profited from prostitution.”
    Victims held in Moore’s home were not allowed to leave, and in exchange for sex were given narcotics.
    Citizen complaints prompted the investigation, which is ongoing, Tatum said. Cocaine and prescription Percocet tablets were seized from Moore’s home, Tatum said.