OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
3:41 PM – Friday, October 18, 2024
A human trafficking raid in Florida resulted in the arrest of 157 individuals, including 25 illegal aliens, the majority of whom reportedly obtained federal benefits after entering the country.
Along with representatives from other law enforcement agencies from Marion County, Lake County, Auburndale, Clermont, Davenport, Winter Haven, Lakeland, and Tampa, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd announced that 157 suspects were arrested as part of “Operation Autumn Sweep” for crimes committed that related to soliciting prostitutes, offering to commit prostitution, and aiding and abetting prostitutes.
Meanwhile, “three others were arrested for traveling to sexually batter children,” The New York Post reported.
Four other potential victims of human trafficking were identified from the 47 prostitutes that appeared at covert sites to engage in prostitution during the operation, which started on October 2nd.
According to Judd’s office, 96 suspects were detained for soliciting prostitution, and of the 157 individuals detained, 201 misdemeanors and 35 felonies were imposed.
“The approach of Hurricane Milton caused us to end our investigation earlier than planned, but it’s still amazing that in such a short amount of time we were able to put 157 people in jail, and three child predators,” Judd stated.
The sheriff also noted that 25 of the 157 individuals detained were illegally present in the United States from countries such as Cuba, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Venezuela.
“Sixteen percent of these total arrests were people who should not even have been in this country,” the sheriff continued. “But they were here, and they were here because we have a federal government that enabled these criminals to come into the country, and they treated them very well after the criminals came here illegally.”
Judd told the story of one woman involved in the raid who says she brought her child to the United States. The woman informed authorities that she flew from Venezuela into Mexico and then illegally crossed the border with her child to enter El Paso, Texas, which contradicts the Harris campaign’s claims that we “have no open border,” seemingly gaslighting American voters into believing that these sorts of worries are just due to “MAGA propaganda.”
“There is no border security at the southern border. Zero. It doesn’t exist,” Judd added.
The sheriff explained that after completing the quick, standard procedure at the Border Patrol processing center, the woman was assigned to a migrant housing facility.
The woman told authorities that after undergoing a DNA test to confirm that her DNA matched that of her child, she was informed of the free benefits and services that would be available to her in the United States. According to Judd, she was told that she would be eligible for programs like Medicaid and SNAP.
She then subsequently received a “free” ticket, paid for with U.S. tax dollars, from Texas to Chicago, where she was still unable to find work. According to Judd, the woman chose to instead travel to Florida and even received a complimentary ticket to the Sunshine State as well.
“She was given free housing, all because the United States paid for that. That’s right. Use the taxpayers,” Judd explained. “This was not a stealthful act, and they gave her free travel, free housing, free food, free medical care. All while people from the hurricane are still waiting for help.”
Four of the women named as victims of human trafficking were smuggled across the border, according to Judd, and two of them acknowledged having to pay off the men who drove them around $6,000.
“Make no mistake about it, the government is complicit and is aiding and abetting human trafficking in the United States,” Judd said. “In addition to that, there is a wide-open border where fentanyl is coming across, and that is encouraged, and as a result of that, we have thousands upon thousands of people dying in the United States. And then the best that our federal politicians can say was, ‘well, it didn’t kill as many people this year as last year.’”
The oldest individual arrested in the trafficking sting was 61, while the youngest victim was 15.
Additionally, according to Judd’s office, three suspects were veterans or active-duty military personnel; three worked at Disney World; three had previously been taken into custody by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office in similar stings; and multiple suspects claimed to have left their fiancé or spouse at home while they were at work, shopping, or the gym.
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