DARTMOUTH, Mass. (WPRI) – Three New Bedford men are facing charges following an undercover operation aimed at combating the “growing threat of commercial sexual exploitation of minors,” according to Dartmouth police.

Detectives, working with the Massachusetts State Police High-Risk Victims Unit, reportedly set up meetings with the suspects in the Dartmouth area on Wednesday.

Ernest Santos, 36, Dominic Medeiros, 20, and David Detorres, 50, were arrested and charged with gratuitous sexual conduct with a child under 18, enticing a child under 16 and attempting to commit a felony .