Rescue of 10 Human Trafficking Victims by Statewide Strike Team

TALLAHASSEE, FL – (June 14, 2024) This week, standing with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and other law enforcement partners, we announced the rescue of 10 human trafficking victims and a new statewide strike team.

The Florida Human Trafficking Strike Team is another way we are fighting back against transnational criminal organizations exploiting Biden’s open border to bring trafficking victims into the United States. Our announcement of the team comes after a multiagency operation to dismantle a massive trafficking ring operating in multiple locations throughout Florida, where a trafficker recruited women from Colombia and Venezuela with promises of legitimate work here in the state and then held them in debt bondage, forcing them into sex work.

The team is comprised of our Statewide Prosecutors and victims’ advocates, agents and analysts from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and counter-human trafficking investigators who assist local law enforcement in identifying and tracking down leads in trafficking cases across the state.

We are already seeing results. Thus far, our strike team is assisting Florida law enforcement with more than 20 human trafficking cases and already made contact with nearly 40 victims.

In addition to combating trafficking directly, the team provides guidance and support to law enforcement throughout the state and is available to coordinate emergency victim support services.

But we can’t rely on our strike team and law enforcement alone. Floridians can help us by learning the signs of human trafficking at YouCanStopHT.com and reporting suspicious activity to our statewide tipline, 855-FLA-SAFE.