A year-long investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Human Trafficking Unit has resulted in the indictment and arrest of a McMinn County man.

Following a tip received in March 2025, special agents identified 25-year-old Exzayveon Smith as a suspect in local human trafficking activities. On September 15, the McMinn County Grand Jury formally indicted Smith on one count of Trafficking for Commercial Sex Acts and one count of Money Laundering.

Authorities tracked Smith to Bullhead City, Arizona, where local police assisted in his arrest on October 7. He is currently being held at the Mohave County Jail in Kingman, Arizona, awaiting extradition back to Tennessee on a $250,000 bond.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation urges anyone with information regarding suspected human trafficking to come forward: