The group was advertising 'party packs' with prostitute and drug combos
Organizers texted clients and appealed to out-of-town visitors
Second bust also happened Wednesday night with a group of prostitutes arrested just blocks from Super Bowl Boulevard last night
Officials say 18 people are being rounded up in New York City on allegations they sold 'party packs' of cocaine and sex to high-end clients ahead of the Super Bowl.
They say surveillance shows the ring laundered money and credit cards through clothing, wig, beauty supply and limousine businesses and targeted wealthy out-of-town customers, especially during large events.
Prostitutes would bring cocaine to clients who ordered the so-called party packs.
On the lookout: The prostitution ring has been the center of an investigation for the past 11 months but they allegedly ramped up their operations in the weeks ahead of the Super Bowl
The text sent 10 days before the Super Bowl says 'new sexy & beautiful girls R in town waiting for u'.
Officials say the arrests follow an 11-month investigation by state and city authorities- including undercover police officers- and was spearheaded by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's Organized Crime Task Force.
ABC 7 reports that an apartment building on 6th Avenue and 37th Street- very close to the area designated 'Super Bowl Boulevard'- served as one of the bases of operations.
Five people were arrested in the building, four of whom allegedly appeared to be prostitutes.
+3Center of it all: A number of busts have been made throughout the city, including one Wednesday night that took place just blocks from the area in Times Square that is being called Super Bowl Boulevard
The raids took place late Wednesday and early Thursday and the ring operators were brought in and processed at the 7th precinct in Manhattan's Lower East Side.
The New York Daily News reports that some of the operators took advantage of the 'johns' willingness to meet with the prostitutes by sending multiple women to each client at each time.
That trick landed a number of the men with billings for single sessions that cost upwards of $10,000.
Aside from the texts to known clients, the operators also allegedly used commercials on public access television and internet ads to appeal to out-of-towners.
Arrested: A second prostitution bust came Wednesday night as police arrested four alleged prostitutes and one man just blocks from Super Bowl Boulevard
'Drug trafficking and prostitution are a scourge on communities across our state,' Attorney General Schneiderman said in a statement.
'My office will continue to work with our partners in law enforcement on multi-agency investigations like this one to take down networks of criminals who exploit women and poison our communities for profit.'
This ring is just one of many prostitution busts that have taken place in New York ahead of the big football game, as The New York Times reports that 298-prostitution arrests were reported from the first of this month through the 16th. That marks a 30 per cent increase from that same time period last year.