January 14, 2021

USA: Operation Intercept Undercover Human Trafficking Sting In Florida Resulted In 71 Arrests. All Suspects Are Male And Are Aged Between 20 and 62 Forced Women To Be Their Sex Slaves.

 
WFLA News Channel 8 published The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office arrested 50 people after a 2-year-long investigation into human trafficking in Tampa. Sheriff Chad Chronister announced the arrests Monday morning.
News4Jax published January 11, 2021: The Super Bowl, held this year in Tampa, will bring a significant economic impact to the Tampa area. With this also comes the concern about human trafficking. Dr. Christine Cauffield, CEO of LSF Health Systems joins us to talk about some warning signs and reporting suspected cases.
NTD News
written by Isabel van Brugen
Tuesday January 12, 2021

A month-long undercover human trafficking sting in Florida by Hillsborough County’s detectives has resulted in 71 arrests, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) announced on Jan. 11, National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.

The operation, known as “Operation Interception,” was created to “combat human trafficking leading up to the Super Bowl coming to Tampa in February 2021,” HCSO Sheriff Chad Chronister told reporters during a press briefing Monday.

“With less than a month until the big game, our covert operations continue, seeking those who choose to sexually exploit others here in our community,” Chronister said. “Our goal, as the operation name explains, is to ‘intercept’ individuals involved in sexual exploitation before they are able to take advantage of vulnerable individuals, and ultimately, to deter others.”

From Dec. 7, 2020 through Jan. 9, 2021, undercover detectives posted advertisements online offering to meet up for sex. Female detectives also posed as sex workers.

All 71 suspects are male, and are aged between 20 and 62, the sheriff said. Those arrested include active-duty military members, a firefighter, a Christian schoolteacher, a banker, construction workers, local business owners, and two registered sex offenders.

All suspects were charged with soliciting another to commit prostitution or entering/remaining in a place for prostitution. Some received additional charges, including drug possession.

“All of these men have one thing in common: they did not care if the women they were going to have sex with were being exploited, forced to sell their bodies against their will,” Chronister said.

The arrests came as local law enforcement officials vowed to increase efforts to prevent an increase in human trafficking before Tampa’s Super Bowl next month.

“With less than a month away from the big game, our covert operations continue and will continue seeking those who choose to sexually exploit others in our community,” Chronister said. “The Super Bowl should not be a venue where these types of crimes occur on the sidelines whether it’s before the game, during the game, or after the game.”

“We know from past experiences with major sporting events that there will be some who travel for the exclusive purpose of taking advantage of women and children,” he added. “I want to make it very clear, if you are planning to engage in the sexual exploitation of others, I’m urging you to think twice. We will find you, and you will be arrested.”

Since taking office, President Donald Trump has made fighting human trafficking a top priority of his administration. He signed an executive order in January 2020 focused on eliminating human trafficking and online child exploitation in the United States, which requires resources to be directed in ways that would result in the prosecution of offenders, assist victims, and expand prevention education programs.

The president also has signed nine pieces of legislation into law to help take on human trafficking.

His administration has also taken multiple crucial steps to tackle the issue. In a proclamation issued in January last year, the president noted that the multi-agency Anti-Trafficking Coordination Team initiative had more than doubled its convictions of human traffickers in its targeted districts.

“We renew our resolve to redouble our efforts to deliver justice to all who contribute to the cruelty of human trafficking, and will tenaciously pursue the promise of freedom for all victims of this terrible crime,” Trump said in a statement on Oct. 20 last year.

The Department of Homeland Security in October announced the opening of its Washington-based Center for Countering Human Trafficking, calling it the first operations center of its kind supporting federal criminal investigations in the United States.
 
The White House published January 31, 2020: President Trump Delivers Remarks at the White House Summit on Human Trafficking: The 20th Anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.
The Epoch Times
written by Isabel Van Brugen
October 21, 2020

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced the opening of its Washington-based Center for Countering Human Trafficking, calling it the first operations center of its kind supporting federal criminal investigations in the United States.

The DHS said in a statement on Oct. 20 that the initiative is part of a government commitment to combat human trafficking, an issue that President Donald Trump has made a hallmark of his administration.

Sex and labor trafficking victimize almost 25 million people worldwide, according to the U.S. State Department’s 2019 “Trafficking in Persons” report (pdf).

“Proud to announce the opening of the DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking,” Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf wrote on Twitter. “One of the many steps the Trump administration has taken to combat and dismantle all forms of human trafficking.”

The new facility represents “the investment of resources, attention, and time by this administration,” Wolf said.

“Human trafficking is modern day slavery. There is no other way to say it. The words are strong because the actions are evil,” Wolf said. “The forms of exploitation, sex trafficking, forced labor, and domestic servitude that constitute human trafficking are antithetical in every way to the principles of human dignity that Americans hold dear.”

Forced labor and human trafficking is estimated to be a $150 billion industry worldwide, according to the U.N.’s International Labour Organization.

Wolf says the center, led by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), will serve as the central hub to support victims of human trafficking, investigative operations, intelligence and data collection and analysis, and training and outreach for law enforcement partners, civil society, and the public.

It will monitor and support DHS counter-human trafficking operations both in the United States and globally, he said.

He noted that the majority of ICE HSI human trafficking investigations have been domestic, with the majority of victims being U.S. citizens.

About 1 in 800 people in the United States are living in “modern slavery,” according to 2018 data by the Walk Free Foundation. The phrase is a broad term used to describe victims of forced labor, sexual exploitation or servitude, and forced marriages, among numerous other abuses.

“Human trafficking, whether through sex or labor, is a detriment to our society and threatens the moral conscience of our nation. Criminal organizations target those who are most vulnerable and exploit them through any means necessary, victims are treated as commodities rather than human beings, with no regard for their health and well-being,” said Tony Pham, the senior official performing the duties of director at ICE.

“ICE, along with our internal and external partners, will continue to fight against these atrocities and answer victims’ cries for help. The Center for Countering Human Trafficking will serve as evidence that when we work collectively against such heinous acts, we combat the threat they pose to national security and to public safety,” Pham added.

The founding of the center comes just weeks after the Trump administration said it awarded more than $100 million in grants to fund services and programs that combat human trafficking and provide assistance to victims across the United States.

The Justice Department (DOJ) grants were announced by Attorney General William Barr and the president’s daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump during a roundtable discussion in Atlanta last month. The funds are being steered to state, local, and tribal jurisdictions, victim service providers, and task forces across the country, and will be used to support key research initiatives on human trafficking.

Since taking office, Trump has made fighting human trafficking a top priority of his administration. He signed an executive order in January focused on eliminating human trafficking and online child exploitation in the United States, which requires resources to be directed in ways that would result in the prosecution of offenders, assist victims, and expand prevention education programs.

The president also has signed nine pieces of legislation into law to help take on human trafficking.

His administration has also taken multiple crucial steps to tackle the issue. In a proclamation issued in January, the president noted that the multi-agency Anti-Trafficking Coordination Team initiative had more than doubled its convictions of human traffickers in its targeted districts.

“We renew our resolve to redouble our efforts to deliver justice to all who contribute to the cruelty of human trafficking, and will tenaciously pursue the promise of freedom for all victims of this terrible crime,” Trump said in a statement on Oct. 20.

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 4:03 PM

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