Texas: Homeland Security Saves 70 Children Victimized by Human Trafficking Schemes

Texas Homeland Security, along with several other agencies in the state, busted a human trafficking scheme when they found 70 missing children in recent weeks.

USA Today News reported that the multi-agency operation was led by Homeland Security Investigations in El Paso and the Texas Department of Public Safety. The operation was called Operation Lost Souls.

It was done over three weeks, from the end of April through mid-May.

The recovered children through the operation were ages 10 to 17, with the majority of them being runaways.

Operation Lost Souls in Texas

El Paso Deputy Special Agent in Charge Taekuk Cho said in a statement that the operation shows the department's commitment to protecting the public from crimes of victimization.

Cho added that HSI is committed to continuing working with law enforcement partners to locate, recover, and help missing children heal while also holding perpetrators accountable for their crimes.

UPI News noted that most of the children were recovered from west Texas. Others were found in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Colorado, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

HSI is also providing victim services and counseling.

Meanwhile, no arrests have been announced. Authorities said HIS is looking for additional information and leads.

Officials held a press conference to discuss the results of the operation on May 25, which coincided with National Missing Children's Day.

People with information about a human trafficking victim or about that type of criminal activity are asked to call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888.

Human Trafficking in Texas

The Fort Worth Police Department Human Trafficking Unit noted that its department has received four cases of human trafficking this year, according to a Star-Telegram report.

The unit has also received 46 tips and made 10 arrests. Last year, there were 15 trafficking cases.

The University of Texas-Austin conducted a study in 2019 and found that child victims of sex trafficking spend about 35 percent of their lives in "circumstances of exploitation" after their first incident.

The report stated that the lack of healthy, trusted relationships in participants' lives and their economic instability make way for ideal conditions of exploitation.

In April, eight people were arrested in Oklahoma City with several charges of human trafficking after a North Texas teenager went missing from a Dallas Mavericks game.

WFAA noted that the North Texas teenager was found more than a week later in Oklahoma.

The 15-year-old girl was at the American Airlines Center for an April 8 game when she went to a restroom but never returned to her seat, according to North Richland Hills police.

Police said that the teenager was seen leaving the arena with an unidentified male.

Authorities did not release further details on her disappearance but posted on social media that she was a "missing endangered juvenile."

Sgt. Dillon Quirk, with Oklahoma City Police Department, said that whenever they are given tips or information that there is someone they believe to be in danger in the area, they do not take it lightly.

Quirk said that it was fortunate that it worked out in the end to find the teenager safely.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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