Three hundred and thirty-nine.
That’s the astounding number of alleged human traffickers or people tied to trafficking arrested over the weekend.
It was part of an annual statewide operation to get pimps and their survivors off the streets and several of those arrests were made here in the Bay Area.
From Thursday through Saturday last week cyber detectives from law enforcement agencies up and down the state exchanged text messages and posts on social media with suspected human sex traffickers and potential clients — soliciting underage girls and boys.
By the end of “operation reclaim and rebuild” the Los Angeles Regional Human Trafficking Task Force netted 339 arrests.
This is music to Bay Area trafficking survivor advocate Vanessa Russell, who owns the non-profit organization and store called “Love Never Fails” based in Hayward.
Both raise funds for trafficking survivors.
“What a great thing for us to be able to get 339 people, identified as exploiters and put on notice that this is not going unnoticed,” Russell said. “This is not ok, and now they have to deal with, sort of, what are they going to do next.”
Several Bay Area law enforcement agencies and partners were involved in the operation, including the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s and District Attorney’s Offices, as well as the Concord, Pittsburg, Novato and San Rafael Police Departments.
The San Rafael Police Department says it made five arrests alone.
“Restoring survivors is part of our mission because it’s really not enough to rescue,” Russell said. “You’ve been traumatized. You need clinical, you need housing. You need workforce development. You need help being reunified with your family — your children.”
Dozens of survivors were rescued over the weekend and offered services.
The operation coincides with the end of National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month just before the Super Bowl — this year, being played in Atlanta. This is an event that typically draws out traffickers.
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