Police arrested eight suspects for allegedly soliciting prostitutes in Laurel along U.S. 1 on Friday, police said.

Howard County police sent female officers undercover in areas citizens had complained about.

The following suspects were arrested and charged with solicitation of prostitution, according to police:

• Michael Eddie Crew, 50, of Owings Mills
• James Shannon Mahoney, 41, of Severn
• Jose Antonio Malagon-Vega, 26, of Laurel
• Bienvenu Koungue Mouafo, 49, of Potomac
• Anthony Luis Padilla, 42, of Chesapeake
• Ronald Shaw, 46, of Washington, D.C. (also charged with possession of marijuana and drug
paraphernalia)
• Owen Collin Wright, 35, of Laurel
• Taurus D. Wheeler, 31, of Upper Marlboro, was charged with human trafficking for attempting to hire the female officer to work for him as a prostitute. Wheeler initially provided a false name to police and was also charged with making a false statement to an officer.

In 2010, police conducted six similar operations, resulting in 76 arrests.