The Federal Bureau of Investigation rescued 84 children on Wednesday from the captivity of a multistate human trafficking ring and arrested 120 traffickers along the way. Law enforcement agencies came together under one goal -Operation Cross County XI-, to take out the “pimps” who run the human trafficking rings.
“We at the FBI have no greater mission than to protect our nation’s children from harm. Unfortunately, the number of traffickers arrested — and the number of children recovered — reinforces why we need to continue to do this important work,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray to the media.
https://twitter.com/CandleClan/status/920829793083441152
“This operation isn’t just about taking traffickers off the street. It’s about making sure we offer help and a way out to these young victims who find themselves caught in a vicious cycle of abuse.” He continued.
The undercover gull that this task force works under is part of a 2003 initiative called the Innocence Lost National Initiative, which has been able to identify and find nearly 6,500 children since it was founded, a true trailblazer on the fight to end human trafficking.
Heroic efforts by @FBI agents to rescue 84 children/arrest 120 traffickers in a multi-state human trafficking ring. https://t.co/9y06BY6uOk
— Ed Royce (@RepEdRoyce) October 19, 2017
The San Francisco Bay Are authorities all came together to “put an additional operational focus on pimps, particularly those involved in the human trafficking of minors,” said the Bureau in a statement. “Pimps who force or coerce adults to engage in prostitution are also committing acts of human trafficking.”
The agency on all its levels agrees, that human traffickers have absolutely zero regard for human life, nonetheless their victims, many of whom happen to be infants and toddlers.
The FBI rescued more than 80 kids from Human Traffickers as the nationwide crackdown on sex trafficking continues. https://t.co/CLV8b2OCvq
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) October 19, 2017
“During operations by FBI Denver’s Rocky Mountain Innocence Lost Task Force, for example, a three-month-old girl and her five-year-old sister were recovered after a friend who was staying with the family made a deal with an undercover task force officer to sell both children for sex in exchange for $600,” read the statement.
Over the course of last week, from Thursday through Sunday, the operation moved through several raids at designated checkpoints previously investigated by the Bureaus intelligence department.
The FBI allegedly allocated 55 field offices and 78 Child Exploitation Task Forces, along with 500 other law enforcement agencies across multiple states, one of the biggest joint operations made in what could be called the largest modern-day abolitionist effort in contemporary American history.
Thank you @FBI & @MissingKids for arresting 120 traffickers & rescuing 84 innocent lives. #modernslavery https://t.co/cWTpgYZZXF
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) October 20, 2017
The efforts of our law enforcement were recognized by the President’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, via Twitter.
Article inspired by NBC // 84 Children Rescued, 120 Human Traffickers Arrested Across U.S., FBI Says