An early morning raid in Orlando broke up a human trafficking operation Thursday where a number of women were being held against their will and forced into a life of prostitution.

The Metropolitan Bureau of Investigations descended on the home on Cepeda Street off Ivy Lane. The agents arrested 75-year-old Richard Rawles for a host of charges, including human trafficking and deriving support from the proceeds of prostitution. Also arrested were 50-year-old James Bernard King and 61-year-old Wilbert Schaver.

The raid caught many in the area offguard. Lessie Woodruff said she lives one street away from Rawles and heard all of the commotion.

“I had just come in from walking my dogs and i heard this loud boom!” Woodruff said.

Rawles did not shy away from speaking to reporters as he was being lead away in handcuffs.

When asked how many women were in the house, Rawles replied, "25."

Investigators said Rawles, Schaver and King would contact women who were about to be released from the Lowell Correctional Institution in Ocala. They offered the women a safe haven at the home on Cepeda Street, after their release.

But instead, authorities said, he would drug them and beat them and force them into prostitution. The women's services were advertised on 'Backpage' and other websites and Rawles and the other co-defendants would allegedly drive these women around to various locations, according to authorities.

Investigators said Rawles is a career criminal with arrests dating back to 1957. They said Thursday's arrest should put him behind bars for the rest of his life.