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Federal and local officials successfully rescued over 30 missing children and dismantled several trafficking operations focused on at-risk youth during a well-coordinated crackdown throughout Texas.
The operation, based in San Antonio, resulted in multiple arrests, execution of felony warrants, and the launch of several new investigations under a collaborative mission dubbed “Operation Lightning Bug.”
Teams from the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) operating out of San Antonio, Del Rio, Midland, and Pecos partnered with the San Antonio Police Department’s Missing Persons Unit, Special Victims Unit, Street Crimes Unit, and undercover agents. They meticulously searched through Texas and national crime databases to pinpoint at-risk juveniles and organize recovery efforts.
More than 30 children were rescued in the San Antonio area. (Loop Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Traffickers are increasingly using technology to prey on victims, Kirsta Leeberg-Melton said. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
Leeberg-Melton emphasized that trafficking is not limited to border regions.
A spokesperson noted, “American citizens can traffic American citizens on American soil,” emphasizing that the majority of trafficking cases prosecuted in the U.S. involve American offenders exploiting American victims.
“A common misconception is that trafficking happens elsewhere and to other people,” she explained. “Unless we begin recognizing that every individual has value, regardless of their background or experiences, we will continue to allow certain levels of exploitation to persist.”
Leeberg-Melton also described sextortion as a growing form of trafficking that uses coercion to force sexual conduct or imagery.
She further elaborated, “When you are using leverage over someone to extract more photographs or demand further sexual acts under threat, that is indeed a form of human trafficking.”
If you suspect someone is a victim of trafficking, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or report anonymously at humantraffickinghotline.org.
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.
