FBI: 6 Underage Trafficking Victims Rescued in Tampa Bay

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has announced the results of a nationwide crackdown on human trafficking that includes the recovery of victims from the Tampa Bay area.

According to the agency, Operation Cross Country IX involved law enforcement agencies on the federal, state and local levels. The operation was designed to crackdown on the commercial sex trafficking of children.

A total of 149 underage trafficking victims were recovered nationally, the FBI wrote in a Tuesday afternoon email. Agencies across the country also charged “153 pimps” during the operation that was conducted last week.

FBI and partner agencies have been teaming up for similar enforcement efforts annually for the past nine years. The youngest child recovered this year, the FBI said, was 12.

“Of the 149 victims recovered, three of those minors were transgender, and three were males,” the email noted.

In the Tampa Bay area, six children were recovered and six adults arrested, the FBI said. The names of those charged have not yet been released.

“Human trafficking is a monstrous and devastating crime that steals lives and degrades our nation,” said Attorney General Loretta Lynch. “As a result of the FBI’s outstanding coordination and exemplary efforts alongside state and local partners during Operation Cross Country, more children will sleep safely tonight, and more wrongdoers will face the judgment of our criminal justice system.”

This year’s operation was the largest in the nine-year history, officials noted. The operation is part of the FBI’s Innocence Lost initiative that has been responsible for recovering nearly 5,000 children from underage prostitution since its inception. To learn more about the initiative, visit www.fbi.gov.

Local agencies that participated in the crackdown included the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and the St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Tampa, Largo and Plant City police departments, among others.

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