Polk Sheriff Grady Judd announces hundreds of human trafficking arrests, includes illegal aliens

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd announced 228 arrests Tuesday as a result of an eight-day human trafficking bust operation, which included 21 suspected to be illegal aliens.

“This is a new record number of arrests during an investigation of this kind,” Judd said. “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’s 58 victims we were able to identify in one year,” he said. “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.”

Of the latest arrests, 21 were suspected to be illegal aliens, authorities said. Countries of origin include Chile, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela.

Below is the breakdown, per the sheriff’s office:

• 150 arrests for soliciting a prostitute, traveling to an undercover location to trade sex for money
• 12 others arrested, eight of which gaining proceeds from prostitution, or transporting those prostitutes to the location
• 70 felonies, 288 misdemeanor charges
• Including the past charges on all suspects, the combined total is 879 felonies and 1,150 misdemeanors

The youngest suspect was 16 years old.

“During these types of undercover investigations, I can truly say that we have ‘seen it all’ and yet we are still surprised by some of the violent acts we encounter,” Judd said.

Two teens, 16 and 17, arrived to the location with a BB gun with hoodies and ski masks, and the sheriff’s office said they seemed as though they were going to commit “armed robbery” of the undercover detective posing as a prostitute.

“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,” Judd said. “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 – there were 13 other suspects who brought firearms to the location.”