AST August 2019 Magazine AST August 2019 Magazine | Page 52

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August 2019 - Edition 36
In past years, the FBI initiated
week-long coordinated nation-
wide sweeps under the name Op-
eration Cross Country to arrest
traffickers and recover under-
age victims. “We are here to rescue children,
and we are here to build good cas-
es against traffickers,” said Jeanette
Milazzo, a special agent who led one
of the Houston Field Office’s task
force operations in early July.
This year, FBI field offices had a
longer time window to plan and
execute operations as part of the
national initiative, with the goal
being to develop richer leads
and intelligence, and more ro-
bust cases. In that operation, undercover of-
ficers from the Houston Police
Department scanned social
media and escort sites looking
for what appeared to be juve-
niles advertising for commer-
cial sex.
Houston Police Department officers working with an FBI task force examine websites and
print-outs in a command center during Operation Independence Day, a monthlong nation-
wide operation to find human traffickers and rescue underage trafficking victims. (Courtesy of
the FBI)
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