The FBI rescued 84 children in a human-trafficking sweep that exposed 120 traffickers during a four-day nationwide operation, FBI officials announced on Wednesday.
Operation Cross Country saw hundreds of law enforcement personnel from various agencies working together to clamp down on human trafficking rings and recover underage victims of prostitution.
Taking part in sting operations across the country, the agents hit the streets, hotels, casinos, trucks shops and monitored social media sites frequently used by pimps, prostitutes and their customers.
Their discoveries were shocking.
In one instance, a Rocky Mountain family friend struck a deal to have a 3-month-old girl and her 5-year-old sister sold for sex in exchange for $600, a report released by FBI noted.
What the family friend did not realize was that the person they were dealing with was an undercover task force.
The children were recovered and the culprit arrested.
In another incident, authorities were able to recover a 16-year-old female after an undercover agent responded to an online advertisement for entertainment.
According to FBI reports, the agent met with a 21-year-old female and offered her and the 16-year-old victim $200 to engage in sexual acts.
The 21-year-old was arrested and a second woman was later apprehended after further investigation revealed she had assisted in the dealings.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, NBC noted that an additional operation was set up to focus on pimps and their involvement in human trafficking in minors.
Commenting on the operation, FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement that their main objective was to protect children from harm.
“Unfortunately, the number of traffickers arrested—and the number of children recovered—reinforces why we need to continue to do this important work.”
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