Hermantown is a city of about 10,000 residents, located in the suburbs of Duluth, Minnesota near the tip of Lake Superior. In May 2011, the Lake Superior Drug and Gang Task Force conducted a web sting after receiving tips from residents that prostituted women were advertising sexual services online. Officers posted decoy ads to the site, and made arrangements to meet up with several would-be sex buyers at a designated hotel. In total, nine sex buyers were arrested but their names and identities were not disclosed to the public.