60 kids rescued in a Tampa Bay human trafficking bust, Florida officials say
Held hostage: 60 Tampa Bay area kids, aged 9 to 17 years old, said U.S. Marshal William Berger.
Dubbed 'Operation Dragon Eye,' the mission saw 20 agencies across federal, state and nonprofit sectors come together in what they're calling the 'largest child rescue operation in United States history.'
'In a two-week period, this team, a collective work of many agencies and law enforcement personnel, rescued 60 kids, kids that were in critical danger, many the victims of trafficking, many missing kids,' Uthmeier said at a news conference Monday night. 'We got a lot of people up here, and that's because it took a lot of people to get this done.'
Eight people were arrested — five men, two women, one unidentified — in connection with running the trafficking ring and face charges including human trafficking, child endangerment, drug possession and drug trafficking. Mugshots of the 'leeches,' as Berger called them, were shown on a screen at the briefing below blurred photos of the victims.
According to Redefining Refuge, a nonprofit that combats child sex trafficking, some of the kids were found pregnant and hooked on drugs.
'One such child, a girl, you know, barely beginning her own life, and yet she was carrying a life inside of her. The baby, actually, of her trafficker,' said Natasha Nascimento, the organization's founder and executive director. 'This child was forced to use substances by her trafficker throughout her pregnancy, and so a baby gets to be born addiction free, a baby gets to be born to a mom who's not being sold every day, and a baby gets to have a story that doesn't start with trauma.'
Now free, the kids are receiving the physical and emotional care needed to 'support each child, both immediately and in their journey ahead,' assured Taylor Hatch, secretary of the Florida Department of Children and Families.
'I promised several months ago, we're going to go after every child predator we can find,' said Uthmeier. 'If you want to prey on our kids, we will hunt you down. We will get you in this state, there's no tolerance for human trafficking.'
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