Thanks guys! My ex-librarian bloodhound instinct might still be working. LOL

I did think of publication dates but the plot seemed to fit and reading the plots from the list of Robert Hoon Thrillers Books shows that J.D. Kirk has written about human trafficking.

I'll stop posting about it in this thread but I'll be interested in any further developments, including finding the quote and whether it is related to Ronald Reagan's quote, so a PM with further info will be welcome.