A two-day human trafficking operation in Oxford yielded seven arrests and five human trafficking victims being rescued.
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced on Friday that “Operation Fins Up,” a reference to a gesture popularized by the Ole Miss football team, wrapped up with multiple individuals facing Lady Justice. In addition to the arrests and rescue efforts, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed a detainer on one of the subjects pending release from state charges.
“My office is committed to taking criminals who traffic people off the streets and equally committed to setting victims on the road to recovery,” Fitch said. “We are grateful to our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners who worked with us on Operation Fins Up and who are a part of our task force network.”
During Operation Fins Up, which was conducted September 24 and 25, Mississippi Attorney General’s Office investigators and prosecutors worked with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to make the arrests and recover the victims. Kevin Malone, President Donald Trump’s senior advisor on Human Trafficking at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, observed the operation, including victim advocacy services.
The following agencies participated: Alcoholic Beverage Control, Homeland Security Investigations, Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office, Lafayette Metro Narcotics Task Force, Oxford Police Department, Skull Games (a nonprofit organization that identifies sex predators and assists law enforcement), U.S. Marshals Task Force, and University of Mississippi Police Department.
Transformation Gardens, a nonprofit offering help to victims of sex abuse and trafficking, and Oxford Police Department Victim Advocates provided services and treatment to the victims who were recovered during the operation.
