(Photo from AG Lynn Fitch on Facebook)
- Victims recovered as part of the operation received treatment and services from the Mississippi Coalition Against Human Trafficking, Transformation Garden, and Tabernacle Southaven.
Seven victims of human trafficking were recovered in Mississippi as part of a nationwide multiagency effort conducted last week.
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s Office announced Monday that the operation was conducted in Southaven, in conjunction with her office’s Human Trafficking Task Force, DeSoto County Sheriff’s Department, Southaven Police Department, and the Alcoholic Beverage Control.
This 67th human tracking recovery operation conducted by the AG’s Human Trafficking Task Force took place on September 10.
Over the course of all operations conducted by the AG’s Office, 402 victims have been recovered, of which 24 were minors, and 205 arrests were performed.
“My office is committed to taking criminals who traffic people off our streets and equally committed to setting victims on the road to recovery,” Fitch said.
Victims recovered as part of the operation received treatment and services from the Mississippi Coalition Against Human Trafficking, Transformation Garden, and Tabernacle Southaven.
The operation was conducted in partnership with the Human Trafficking Training Center’s nationwide call to fight exploitation.
Thursday’s operation took place across 22 states, where 79 victims were located and 125 arrests were made. Five of the 79 victims recovered were younger than 18.
“Developing partnerships with law enforcement agencies both within Mississippi and across the country is a priority for the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, and we are proud to be a part of building this network of dedicated law enforcement agencies working to end human trafficking,” Fitch added.
Human trafficking can include forced labor and coercion to engage in commercial sex acts.
The United Nations’ International Labour Organization estimates that 27.6 million people are the victim of some sort of human trafficking across the globe, 77% of which fall into the forced labor category. Within the 23% that are coerced into commercial sex acts, 78% are women.
