85 Arrested in Human Trafficking Sting in Florida. But Were Any Actual Traffickers Arrested?
TAMPA, Fla. — Authorities in Florida say they have arrested 85 people in a monthslong human trafficking sting.
“Operation Trade Secrets” began at the outset of the year, focusing on hotels, motels, spas, massage parlors, strip clubs, adult bookstores and other activities, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister announced Monday during a news conference. The sting targeted men trying to pay for sex with undercover deputies, but about half of the people arrested were women offering to commit prostitution.
“The only way to get proof of victims of human trafficking is to do an operation like this,” Chronister said. “You don’t know who’s there on their own free will . and who’s being forced to have sex. It’s probably one of the biggest challenges of interviewing these individuals.”
One of the people arrested was a sex trafficker, Chronister said. Marcell Walsh, 40, was arrested in April and charged with human trafficking after a woman he was staying with at a Tampa hotel told detectives that Walsh was forcing her into prostitution.
