Hide Transcript Show Transcript

WEBVTT AND IT'S HAPPENING RIGHT HERE INTHE UPSTATE.HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS ON THERISE.>> IT IS HAPPENING.IT'S HAPPENING EVERYWHERE EVERYCITY.EVERY SMALL TOWN.EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD.MADELEINE: ACCORDING TO THE FBION WEDNESDAY, 84 CHILDREN WEREFREED AND 120 HUMAN TRAFFICKINGSUSPECTS ARRESTED IN A NATIONALCRACKDOWN.ARRESTS WERE MADE IN COLUMBIAAND MYRTLE BEACH.>> I THINK THAT UNFORTUNATELYIT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN SHOUTING ONTHE ROOFTOP FOR YEARS.THIS IS A PROBLEM.MADELEINE: FOR LEADERS ATSWITCH, A NONPROFIT INGREENVILLE DEDICATED TO THEGROWING PROBLEM OF HUMANTRAFFICKING, THIS LATESTINCIDENT COMES AS NO SURPRISE.>> THEY'RE IN SCHOOLS, IN THEMALLS.IN CHURCHES EVEN, SO THEY'REAROUND US.IT'S NOT THIS HIDDEN THING WHERESOMEONE WHO MAYBE HAS BEENVICTIMIZED IS LOCKED IN A CELLARSOMEWHERE.MADELEINE: EACH YEAR, SWITCHSEES MORE AND MORE LOCAL HUMANTRAFFICKING CASES.THEY SAY THE UPSTATE'SPOSITIONING ALONG I-85 IS ONEREASON FOR THE INCREASE.>> WE ARE RIGHT BETWEEN ATLANTAAND CHARLOTTE, SO ATLANTA ISTYPICALLY THE TOP CITY IN THECOUNTRY FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKINGAND CHARLOTTE IS IN THE TOP 10.SO WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS A LOT OFMOVEMENT IN CHARLOTTE ANDATLANTA, AND PEOPLE ARE LANDINGIN SPARTANBURG, ANDERSON,GREENVILLE.MADELEINE: SWITCH HOPES TO BRINGLIGHT INTO THE DARK SPACES OFTHE HUMAN TRAFFICKING WORLD.WHILE THE $150 BILLION INDUSTRYPROFITS FROM THE DESTRUCTION OFCOUNTLESS LIVES.>> WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW ISWE ARE GOING THROUGH THECOUNTIES AND TRYING TO GET OTHERINVESTIGATORS AS WELL TO BETRAINED, BECAUSE THE REALITY IS

Advertisement 84 kids rescued in human trafficking crackdown, arrests made in Columbia, Myrtle Beach, FBI says 84 minors were recovered and 120 traffickers were arrested Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Eighty-four minors were recovered and 120 traffickers were arrested, as part of Operation Cross Country XI, a nationwide effort focusing on underage human trafficking that ran from Oct. 12-15, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.The nationwide crackdown on child sex trafficking recently netted arrests in Myrtle Beach and Columbia, according to the Post and Courier.This is the eleventh iteration of the FBI-led Operation Cross County, which took place in 55 FBI field offices and involved 78 state and local task forces with hundreds of law enforcement officers, intelligence analysts and victim assistance specialists, the FBI said. Thirteen law enforcement agencies in North Carolina conducted operations in Charlotte, Raleigh, Fayetteville and Lumberton, the FBI said.“We at the FBI have no greater mission than to protect our nation’s 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,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “This operation isn't just about taking traffickers off the street. It's about making sure we offer help and a way out to these young victims who find themselves caught in a vicious cycle of abuse."Federal and local law enforcement personnel staged operations in hotels, casinos, truck stops, on internet websites and street corners as part of Operation Cross Country XI, the FBI said.The FBI said the youngest victim recovered during the operation was 3 months old and the average victims recovered were 15 years old. The FBI received assistance from SLED, Richland County Sheriff’s Office, Columbia Police Department, Myrtle Beach Police Department and the Horry County Police Department in South Carolina, according to the Post and Courier. Authorities in Canada, the United Kingdom, Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines also helped, the Post and Courier said. Juveniles recovered were provided with protective services, medical care and mental health counseling, the Post and Courier said. Local nonprofit Switch, offers five programs to attack the issue of human trafficking in the Upstate. They say, that so far in 2017, they have handled 30 active human trafficking cases, and the number continues to grow. Executive director of Switch, Zaina Greene, says Greenville's location along I-85 between Atlanta and Charlotte, two hotbeds for human trafficking, may explain why we are seeing more kinds of these cases locally. Switch currently works with one investigator at the Greenville County Sheriff's Department. They say they are working on funding to add more investigators. If you or someone you know needs help, you can call the national domestic violence hotline at 1.888.773.4216 which is open 24-7.