MOULTRIE — Five men were arrested for soliciting prostitution in Northwest Moultrie Thursday morning during a cooperative sting conducted by the Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office and the Moultrie Police Department.

“We received information in the past about a lot of prostitution in the area, so we decided to set up an operation (Thursday) to deter the customers,” said MPD Special Duty Commander Sgt. Alfred Anderson.

An undercover police officer dressed as a streetwalker spent the whole morning on the corner of Third Street and Seventh Avenue Northwest. She was solicited for sex by five men. Four drove up in cars, while another approached her on foot, Anderson said. All arrests were made outside the area, he said.

The officer’s first would-be john was at about 8:30 a.m., he said, and offered her anywhere from $5 to $30 in exchange for sexual service.

In the process of the arrest, marijuana was seized from two individuals. The total street value was about $80, the sergeant said, but each bag contained less than an ounce — a misdemeanor offense. Also seized was a leather bound metal flask and a wallet belonging to a woman out of a vehicle.

Facing pandering charges as a result of the sting are Herman Mullineaux Scott, 59, 112 Grant Court; Freddie Johnson, 28, Coolidge; Tyrone Palmer, 30, Coolidge; Brandon Lyas, 19, 1011 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive; and Manuel Supon, 36, Albany.

Johnson was charged also with marijuana possession and open container violation. Palmer also was charged with marijuana possession.

Prostitution goes on in many Moultrie neighborhoods, he said, and most of the prostitutes here are self-employed.

“They got their own little street corner, and that’s where they set up their shop at,” he said, adding that illicit drugs are often in play.

“In a small town like this, it goes on. Funny thing about it though, we had a concerned citizen roll up on the undercover officer and informed her that the police were down the street,” Anderson said.

Law enforcement hopes that people would think twice before pandering, because more stings are in the works.

“Hopefully, this will be somewhat of a deterrent for the customer. By doing this, the customers never know if it’s a real hooker or an undercover police officer,” he said.

Anderson encouraged those with information regarding local prostitution to contact him at the Moultrie Police Department at 985-3131.