METRO ATLANTA: Over 160 Arrested In Super Bowl Child/Human Trafficking Operation

Nine juveniles and nine adults were rescued during an 11-day federal, state and local takedown.

ATLANTA — A total of 169 people were arrested during an 11-day, FBI-led human trafficking operation ahead of Super Bowl LIII. On Tuesday, the Violent Crimes Against Children/Human Trafficking Program and Metro Atlanta Child Exploitation Task Force announced it had also rescued 18 victims of human trafficking, including nine juveniles and nine adults.

The effort leading up to Super Bowl Sunday included more than 25 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies and District Attorney’s Offices, along with seven non-government organizations.

From January 23, 2019 to February 2, 2019, the operation’s goal was to raise awareness about sex trafficking by proactively addressing that threat during the Super Bowl and events leading up to the Super Bowl.

Of the 169 arrests, 26 people were alleged traffickers and 34 suspects were allegedly people attempting to engage in sex acts with minors. The youngest sex-trafficking victim rescued was 14 years old.

Besides the FBI and GBI, other participating departments included Atlanta, Brookhaven, Dunwoody, Marietta and Smyrna police, as well as Cobb, Fulton and DeKalb county police, Fulton County schools police, and the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Georgia Cares, 4Sarah, Out of Darkness, Street Grace, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and In Our Backyard.

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