(NewsNation) — Polk County, Florida, Sheriff Grady Judd says he is “shocked” after a record number of arrests were made in an undercover human trafficking investigation.
“We were shocked,” Judd said on NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports. “We had two or three coaches and a teacher. We had a former detention deputy. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. Those people should know better.”
According to the sheriff’s office, “Operation March Sadness 2024” targeted suspects associated with human trafficking, prostitution and other crimes. A total of 228 people were arrested.
NewsNation affiliate WFLA reported that 150 suspects were charged with soliciting a prostitute. Eight other suspects were accused of deriving proceeds from prostitution or transporting prostitutes to the locations set up by law enforcement.
“This is a new record number of arrests during an investigation of this kind,” Judd said.
While 66 suspects were also arrested on charges of prostitution, investigators said 13 of them were victims of human trafficking.
Twenty-one of those arrested were internationals who were in the country illegally, coming from Chile, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela, WFLA reported. Another 18 suspects were said to be U.S. citizens from outside Florida, coming from Alabama, California, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Puerto Rico and Wisconsin.
Exclusive NewsNation undercover footage from a hidden camera in a hotel room shows moments during the undercover investigation.
The man seen in the video is actually an undercover detective with the Polk County Sheriff’s Department. At first, there is a little small talk with a woman he solicited due to a language barrier.
But with the help of some modern technology, a monetary transaction is made. After handing over the money, the situation escalates.
The party picks up before it all comes to a halt when authorities step in to make the bust.
The women seen in the video are from Venezuela, and after they were arrested, they say they were trafficked.
“My detectives, who are the very best, worked with the local police detectives,” Judd said. “And we all do these operations over and over and over again. So it’s no secret to anyone in this county that of the 228 arrested, only 42 were from this county, and they obviously live under a rock because we arrest many people. We were shocked.”
Aside from the suspects who were committing sex crimes, WFLA reported, a pair of teen brothers were also arrested for planning to rob an undercover detective who posed as a prostitute.