{"id":42592,"date":"2024-03-05T13:33:44","date_gmt":"2024-03-05T18:33:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=42592"},"modified":"2024-03-05T13:33:53","modified_gmt":"2024-03-05T18:33:53","slug":"polk-county-sheriffs-office-arrests-228-during-eight-day-human-trafficking-enforcement-operation-operation-march-sadness-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2024\/03\/05\/polk-county-sheriffs-office-arrests-228-during-eight-day-human-trafficking-enforcement-operation-operation-march-sadness-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Polk County Sheriff\u2019s Office arrests 228 during eight-day human trafficking enforcement operation \u201cOperation March Sadness 2024\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"473\" height=\"420\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Screenshot-48a.png?resize=473%2C420&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-42595\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Screenshot-48a.png?w=473&amp;ssl=1 473w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Screenshot-48a.png?resize=300%2C266&amp;ssl=1 300w\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During an eight-day-long undercover human trafficking operation, which began on Thursday, February 22, 2024, the Polk County Sheriff\u2019s Office Vice Unit arrested 228 suspects involved in illegal acts related to soliciting prostitutes, offering to commit prostitution, or aiding and abetting prostitutes.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/operation-march-sadness-2024-suspect-poster.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-42594\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/operation-march-sadness-2024-suspect-poster.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/operation-march-sadness-2024-suspect-poster.jpg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/operation-march-sadness-2024-suspect-poster.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/operation-march-sadness-2024-suspect-poster.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/operation-march-sadness-2024-suspect-poster.jpg?resize=2048%2C1152&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/operation-march-sadness-2024-suspect-poster.jpg?w=2220&amp;ssl=1 2220w\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Detectives from the Auburndale PD, Davenport PD, Haines City PD, Lakeland PD, Lake Hamilton PD, Lake Wales PD, St. Cloud PD, and Winter Haven Fire Rescue assisted with the investigation. The Office of the State Attorney 10th Judicial Circuit, State Attorney Brian Haas, members from the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), and social services organizations One More Child; Heartland for Children; and Selah Freedom, were also on hand.<\/p>\n\n\n        \n        <div class=\"embedpress-gutenberg-wrapper source-provider-Youtube aligncenter ep-clear   ep-content-protection-disabled inline\" id=\"a7d89688-2021-405f-aa6b-64733e757864\" data-embed-type=\"Youtube \">\n            <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper \">\n                <div id=\"ep-gutenberg-content-4c0dbe6089bbe988aaac8e01f491befc\" class=\"ep-gutenberg-content\">\n                    <div >\n                        <div class=\"ep-embed-content-wraper preset-default insta-grid ep-google-photos-carousel\"\n                            style=\"max-width:600px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\"                                                                                                                >\n\n                            <div class=\"ose-youtube ose-uid-f11c6566d5d475157fb7da7fbd2a293e ose-embedpress-responsive\" style=\"width:600px; height:340px; max-height:340px; max-width:100%; display:inline-block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowFullScreen=\"true\" title=\"News conference: Operation March Sadness 2024 (March 05, 2024)\" width=\"600\" height=\"340\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ysZHY6ZAXE0?feature=oembed&#038;color=red&#038;rel=1&#038;controls=2&#038;start=true&#038;end=true&#038;fs=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;modestbranding=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; encrypted-media;accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;gyroscope;picture-in-picture clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen title=\"Polk County Sheriff\u2019s Office arrests 228 during eight-day human trafficking enforcement operation \u201cOperation March Sadness 2024\u201d\"><\/iframe><\/div>                        <\/div>\n\n                                            <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    \n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br><br>Those who traveled to provide prostitution services were screened by detectives and social services organizations to determine if they were being trafficked or exploited by others, and were offered services by the social services organizations at the operation. During this investigation, 13 possible human trafficking victims were identified of the 66 prostitutes who were arrested.<br><br><strong>There were 150 suspects arrested for soliciting a prostitute and traveling to the undercover location to negotiate having sex in exchange for money; 12 other suspects were arrested, and of those, 8 were either deriving proceeds from prostitution or transporting prostitutes to the undercover location.<\/strong><br><br>Detectives charged a total of 70 felonies and 288 misdemeanors during the investigation. The suspects&#8217; criminal histories included a combined total of 879 felonies and 1,150 misdemeanors.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"586\" height=\"390\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Screenshot-48b.png?resize=586%2C390&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-42596\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Screenshot-48b.png?w=586&amp;ssl=1 586w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Screenshot-48b.png?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8220;This is a new record number of arrests during an investigation of this kind. More importantly, we identified 13 human trafficking victims; during two previous similar operations in February and October 2023, we identified 24 and 21 victims, respectively. That\u2019s 58 victims we were able to identify in one year. The valuable relationships that we have with the social services organizations who join us in these operations make it possible for these women to get help and be emancipated from this way of life<\/em>.&#8221; &#8211;&nbsp;<strong>Grady Judd, Sheriff<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Some interesting notes from the operation:<br><\/strong><br>\u00b7\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a021 of the arrested are suspected of being in the country illegally; Those who are here illegally are from Chile, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela.<br>\u00b7\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a041 suspects told detectives they were married.<br>\u00b7\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a011 suspects told detectives they received government assistance.<br>\u00b7\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a044 suspects brought illegal drugs to the location: detectives seized fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, MDMA, hydrocodone, Xanax, methamphetamine, and marijuana.<br>\u00b7\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a015 suspects brought firearms to the undercover location; 17 firearms total were seized.<br>\u00b7\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a018 suspects were from other states and Puerto Rico: Alabama, California, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.<br>\u00b7\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The oldest person arrested is 73 years old while the youngest is 16 years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two brothers, ages 16 and 17 years old, came to the location armed with a BB gun, wearing hoodies and ski masks, and creeping around the undercover location as if they were about to commit an armed robbery of the undercover detective who was posing as a prostitute whom they solicited online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fo\/3f02kvtkr88ko3rrc0jq2\/h?rlkey=bsz0uewsilbkmvossydm4ci9z&amp;dl=0\">Click here<\/a>&nbsp;to see videos of them at the undercover location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Omar and Kalem Najjar were both charged with attempted armed robbery, a felony, as well as loitering\/prowling.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"601\" height=\"364\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Screenshot-48-4.png?resize=601%2C364&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-42593\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Screenshot-48-4.png?w=601&amp;ssl=1 601w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Screenshot-48-4.png?resize=300%2C182&amp;ssl=1 300w\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;<em>During these types of undercover investigations, I can truly say that we have &#8216;seen it all&#8217; and yet we are still surprised by some of the violent acts we encounter. These two teenagers were incredibly lucky that they did not brandish a firearm while stalking who they thought was a prostitute, at a location filled with law enforcement officers. This could have ended very badly for them. This should also illustrate just how dangerous it is to agree to have sex with someone in exchange for money &#8211; there were 13 other suspects who brought firearms to the location.<\/em>&#8221; &#8211;&nbsp;<strong>Grady Judd, Sheriff<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>During an eight-day-long undercover human trafficking operation, which began on Thursday, February 22, 2024, the Polk County Sheriff\u2019s Office Vice Unit arrested 228 suspects involved in illegal acts related to&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"0","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","default_image_id":71799,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[12,14,23],"tags":[7728],"class_list":["post-42592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","category-news","category-sheriffs-corner","tag-polk-county-sheriffs-office-arrests-228-during-eight-day-human-trafficking-enforcement-operation-operation-march-sadness-2024"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42592"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42597,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42592\/revisions\/42597"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}