A post shared on Instagram purports an underground tunnel found in the Crown Heights area of Brooklyn, New York is being used for human trafficking.

 

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A post shared by Jo Rose💫⭐️🌟 (@_jospeakstruth)

Verdict: False

A New York Police Department (NYPD) spokesperson denied the claim, according to Lead Stories.

Fact Check:

Vandalism occurred when cement trucks were recently called to fill in an underground tunnel found in Crown Heights, according to the website Crown Heights Info. Police responded to the scene after walls were ripped down, exposing the tunnel, the website indicated.

The Instagram post, which has received over 700 likes, claims an underground tunnel found in the Crown Heights area of Brooklyn, New York is purportedly being used for human trafficking. “What’s up with those underground tunnels in Crown Heights? Don’t tell me that it was to still have service during “covid” because plandemic was put on pause and they slowly trying to press play again,” the post reads. “Why the tunnels? Is it human trafficking,” it continues.

The claim is false. An NYPD spokesperson denied the claim, according to Lead Stories. The spokesperson provided the outlet with a copy of a police report about an incident that occurred following the discovery of the underground tunnel in Crown Heights. The tunnel was discovered during a Jan. 8 dispute at the Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters that resulted in three arrests, the outlet indicated.

The charges outlined in the police report were criminal mischief, reckless endangerment, obstructing governmental administration, attempted hate crime, attempted reckless endangerment, and disorderly conduct. There was no charge mentioning human trafficking, according to Lead Stories.

The NYPD spokesperson who spoke with the outlet also confirmed the tunnels were not connected to human trafficking.

“If there was an ongoing investigation that would be there [in the police report]. But there isn’t. … Didn’t say anything in regards to that,” the spokesperson said.

In addition, a Jan. 10 article from The Associated Press highlighting the tunnel’s discovery does not mention any link to human trafficking, either. Young men in the Chabad-Lubavitch movement supposedly built the tunnel, officials said, according to the outlet. Likewise, the tunnel is believed to have originated in “the basement of an empty apartment building,” behind the movement’s headquarters, the outlet reported.

Furthermore, Check Your Fact found no credible news reports linking the tunnel to human trafficking. (RELATED: No, Video Does Not Show Oil Field Being Discovered In Burkina Faso)

Check Your Fact has also contacted the NYPD for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.