A multi-level operation, aptly dubbed “Fool Around and Find Out,” apprehended 255 alleged human traffickers, child sex predators, and illegal migrants in Central Florida.
The Polk County, Florida, operation, which lasted nine days in May, resulted in the most people ever arrested in a single sting by the sheriff’s office.
Sheriff Grady Judd told Fox News Digital that the operation was a collaborative effort among numerous law enforcement agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which was integrated for the first time with the Central Florida department.
“We made many arrests. Our staff prepares in advance. We know where to go on social media to find those wicked people or arrange for them to come to us, so they did an excellent job.”
One of the most surprising revelations from the investigation was the arrest of 36 illegal migrants. Judd stated that 26 of them had not checked in with federal officials, rendering them untraceable until this operation.
“Twenty-six of them were not even on the federal government’s radar,” he told me. “They had snuck in the country and did not check in.”
The migrants detained make up around 15% of the total, and Judd said that their absence may have prevented the same amount of crime.
“If those illegal immigrants weren’t here in this country, then there would have been 15% less crime committed,” he told reporters.
The operation also revealed a diverse range of individuals from all walks of American life.
Those arrested included a medical doctor, an American Red Cross executive, active and retired military men, and even Adarius Taylor, a former NFL star. Taylor spent his career with the Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Cleveland Browns before retiring in 2020.
Judd said that the former NFL player left his young, medically delicate child alone in a car while allegedly seeking sexual favors from an undercover officer posing as a prostitute.
Another suspect allegedly went to the operation as his wife battled cancer at home.
“Are you kidding me?” Judd exclaimed. “Your wife is being treated for cancer.” And you’re pulling a trick with a hooker at an undercover place, just when she needs you the most? That’s incredible. There were numerous incidents like that.
Detectives charged 102 felonies and 284 misdemeanors during the investigation. The suspects had a combined criminal history of 400 felonies and 519 misdemeanors, including charges for premeditated murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, robbery, violent battery, and sexual assault.
“The online prostitution industry enables traffickers and allows for the continued victimization of those who are being trafficked,” Judd said in a statement following the sting. “Our mission is to find victims, assist them, and apprehend those who fuel human exploitation (Johns) and profit from it. Prostitution is not a victimless crime; it leads to exploitation, sickness, drug and alcohol abuse, violence, and shattered families.”
Judd stated that Polk County has a zero-tolerance policy against criminal activities.
“This isn’t the final one. This is only the last one. There will be another one, and then another one.”
Judd’s message is clear: individuals who come to Florida with criminal intent will not be allowed to hide and will be held accountable in public.
“Florida is a vacation state. “People come from all over the world with their children,” he explained. “We want to make sure that it’s a safe environment, and it is.”
“If you think you’re gonna sneak here and, ‘Hey, what goes on in Florida stays in Florida’, that’s wrong,” according to him. “I’ll put you on blast all across the nation, and that’s a guarantee.”