The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted a nationwide sting known as "Operation Cross Country " and located 200 sex trafficking victims and 59 reported missing children.
On Tuesday, the agency said that the operation, which was conducted in July, arrested more than 60 suspected human traffickers. Authorities also detained another 126 individuals believed to be involved in child sexual exploitation and other trafficking offenses.
Operation Cross Country
The bureau added that the nationwide sting was a nearly two-week initiative focused on rescuing child trafficking victims. It involved a coordinated effort between FBI field officers across the United States and local law enforcement and social services agencies.
In a statement, the agency said that the operation grew out of a 2003 FBI initiative to identify and recover minors who were victims of sexual exploitation. It added that while the national sweeps drew attention to the issue of trafficking, the bureau and its partners were working to investigate and prevent trafficking daily, as per The Blaze.
With the sting that the bureau conducted this year, in coordination with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), officials were able to locate the hundreds of trafficking victims, along with another 59 child sex trafficking victims.
The FBI noted that the NCMEC was able to assist the bureau in more than 400,000 missing children cases. A statement said that Operation Cross Country achieved significant milestones in the recovery of victims, the apprehension of offenders, and the raising of public awareness regarding the heinous crimes.
Regina Thompson, the assistant director of the Victim Services Division, called human trafficking a "very complex, traumatic crime." She also stressed the importance of interacting with victims in a "trauma-informed, victim-centered approach."
FBI Director Christopher Wray said that human trafficking is a grave violation of a person's human rights that targets the most vulnerable members of society. According to USA Today, he added that the bureau's actions against this particular threat will never waver as officials continue to send the message that such crimes will not be tolerated.
Global Trafficking Victims
The global operation involves law enforcement agencies identifying traffickers, networks, and victims and receiving help from the FBI, which provides resources for the victims. In a statement, Attorney General Merrick Garland said that sex traffickers cause unimaginable harm to their victims.
Tracy Walder, a NewsNation national security analyst, said that roughly 300,000 children are victims of trafficking every year worldwide. She added that the United States accounts for about 5.1% of all child trafficking crimes.
She noted that operations such as Operation Cross Country, which have been going on for more than two decades, are crucial because they reunite children with their families and spread public awareness.
Walden added that authorities are also providing a victim-centered approach to the victimized children to give them the tools they need to heal from the experience that they have been through, said NewsNation.
