A weeklong undercover human trafficking operation in Florida busted more than 200 suspects and ended with the rescue of 24 possible human trafficking victims, authorities said Thursday.
The bust happened in Polk County beginning Feb. 6 and involved nine other law enforcement agencies, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said. Those arrested were charged with a total of 68 felonies and 308 misdemeanors.
"Not only did we arrest more suspects during this single operation than we have ever arrested before, we identified 24 human trafficking victims – the highest number of victims we’ve ever rescued during one of these investigations," Sheriff Grady Judd said.
Of the 213 individuals arrested, 89 suspects were arrested for soliciting a prostitute, officials said. The 24 human trafficking victims were identified from the 111 prostitutes arrested.
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Fourteen suspects were suspected of being in the U.S. illegally, with 13 from Cuba and one from Mexico, according to the sheriff’s office. Six of those 14 were later identified as victims of human trafficking.
Investigators arrested 13 other suspects during the operation, 10 of whom either got money from the prostitutes or aided and abetted them, officials said.
Detectives also seized fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana from those arrested during the operation.
