60 missing children rescued from the clutches of human traffickers
On June 23, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier joined the U.S. Marshal for the Central District of Florida William Berger to announce the rescue of 60 children as part of “Operation Dragon Eye” in the Tampa Bay Area. As a result of the operation, eight defendants were arrested, including one on charges of human trafficking.
“The real heroes behind this operation are the law enforcement who built and executed this mission. As your Attorney General and a father of three young kids, protecting children is my top priority,” said Uthmeier. “If you victimize children, you’re going to prison, end of story.”
“The unique part of this operation was the fact that underaged critically missing children ranging from age 9 to 17 were not only recovered but were debriefed and provided with physical and psychological care,” said Berger. “This operation further included follow-up assistance in hopes that these youth will not return back to the streets to be further victimized.”
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“60 kids saved. That number sends the message that Florida will never be a safe place for traffickers,” said FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass. “At FDLE, we will continue to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. And to any family still missing their child, we will never stop searching until we make sure they are brought home safely.”
“Operation Dragon Eye’s mission centered on helping find missing children in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties. The operation took place over two weeks, and the rescued children ranged in age from nine to 17 years old+.”
“Uthmeier said many of the children were in “critical danger” and at risk of trafficking.”
“Many of these kids have been through painful, disastrous situations,” he said. “But at least today we’ve rescued them and we now can work towards recovery.” ~ WTLV
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Operation Dragon Eye, led by the U.S. Marshal’s Office with legal counsel provided by the Office of Statewide Prosecution, included efforts from 20 agencies.
Attorney General Uthmeier’s OSP is the lead prosecuting authority with assistance from the State Attorneys of the Sixth and Thirteenth Judicial Circuits. Special Counsel Rita Peters will prosecute the human trafficking case, with two other human trafficking cases still under investigation.
The eight defendants face charges ranging from human trafficking, child endangerment, drug possession, and drug trafficking. For more on the story, see the video accompanying this article.
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(Source: Office of Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier)
(Note that images are for presentation purposes only)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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