Eight people are under arrest in Sevier County after an undercover operation aimed at identifying people seeking paid sex involving minors.

In a two-day period beginning on April 21, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement placed decoy ads on websites “known to be linked to prostitution and commercial sex cases” in an effort to identify individuals seeking commercial sex acts with minors, according to a TBI press release.

Identities of 8 men who were arrested and booked into the Sevier County Jail during the operations have been released.

Carl Joseph Cantrell (DOB: 7/16/88), Dandridge, TN: One count of Solicitation of a Minor

Benjamin Jason Holt (DOB: 10/12/77), Newport, TN: One count of Solicitation of a Minor

Eric Burse Griffith (DOB: 7/18/81), Robbins, TN: One count of Soliciting Sexual Exploitation of a Minor by Electronic Means

Denis Tyulkin (DOB: 6/15/76), Ravenna, OH: One count of Solicitation of a Minor

Tyler Ryan Arrington (DOB: 12/15/92), Lebanon, VA: One count of Solicitation of a Minor

Raul Pedro (DOB: 5/28/94), Knoxville, TN: One count of Solicitation of a Minor

Kevin Leroy Baer (DOB: 12/16/55), Westminster, MD: One count of Solicitation of a Minor

Ivan Kale Freeman (DOB: 1/27/92), Knoxville, TN: One count of Solicitation of a Minor

The undercover operation was executed by special agents with the TBI Human Trafficking Unit, the Sevierville Police Department, the Pigeon Forge Police Department, the Gatlinburg Police Department, the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office, and the office of 4th Judicial District Attorney General James Dunn.