Florida law enforcement officials recently arrested 157 individuals during a human trafficking operation known as “Operation Autumn Sweep.”
The sting, which targeted illegal activities related to prostitution, included 25 illegal immigrants, some of whom allegedly received federal government benefits after entering the country.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd announced the results of the operation alongside representatives from various law enforcement agencies, including those from Marion County, Lake County, Auburndale, Clermont, Davenport, Winter Haven, Lakeland, and Tampa.
“Operation Autumn Sweep” focused on individuals involved in soliciting prostitution, offering to commit prostitution, and aiding and abetting prostitutes. Additionally, three suspects were arrested for traveling to sexually batter children.
The operation commenced on October 2, leading to the identification of four potential human trafficking victims out of the 47 prostitutes who appeared at undercover locations.
Judd’s office reported that 96 of the arrested suspects were charged with soliciting prostitution, with a total of 35 felony charges and 201 misdemeanors issued across the group.
“The approach of Hurricane Milton caused us to end our investigation earlier than planned, but it’s still amazing that in such a short amount of time we were able to put 157 people in jail, and three child predators,” Judd said.
Among the 157 individuals arrested, Sheriff Judd revealed that 25 were in the U.S. illegally, hailing from countries such as Cuba, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Venezuela. “Sixteen percent of these total arrests were people who should not even have been in this country,” he stated. “But they were here, and they were here because we have a federal government that enabled these criminals to come into the country, and they treated them very well after the criminals came here illegally.”
Judd shared the story of a female suspect who entered the U.S. with her child. She reported that she flew into Mexico from Venezuela and then crossed the border into El Paso, Texas.
Upon her arrival, she was greeted by Border Patrol agents. “There is no border security at the southern border. Zero. It doesn’t exist,” Judd commented.
