COBB COUNTY, Ga. — While thousands of soccer fans packed stadiums, hotels and restaurants during the FIFA World Cup, hundreds of federal, state and local investigators were carrying out what Homeland Security Investigations says became the nation’s largest human trafficking operation tied to the tournament.
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Only Channel 2 Action News spoke exclusively with Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Steven Schrank, who said Operation Red Card resulted in 153 arrests across metro Atlanta during the World Cup.
“We had officers and detectives and undercover agents working in the background to protect our community against the horrors of human trafficking and child exploitation,” Schrank said.
According to HSI, the multi-agency operation led to 153 arrests, including:
- 13 people accused of human trafficking.
- 11 people accused of child exploitation.
- More than 100 others facing charges ranging from pandering to drugs, weapons and outstanding warrants.
Schrank told Channel 2 Action News that those arrested included two medical doctors, a nurse and four members of the U.S. armed services, all accused of seeking sex.
“It’s terrible, and it is exactly that — positions of trust,” Schrank said.
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Channel 2 Action News also obtained exclusive drone video showing one of the undercover operations.
Investigators said the man shown in the video believed he was meeting an underage girl for sex at a metro Atlanta QuikTrip. Instead, they said, undercover agents were waiting to arrest him. Authorities did not identify the suspect.
HSI officials said undercover operations were conducted throughout metro Atlanta, including hotels, parking lots, businesses and other locations where suspects believed they were meeting women or underage girls for sex.
One of those operations took place at a hotel in Marietta, where investigators said a suspect using a website to arrange sex arrived believing he was meeting a woman. Instead, authorities said, he encountered undercover agents and was taken into custody.
Schrank said the overwhelming majority of those arrested were local or already living in the region.
“The majority of our arrests were, in fact, individuals that were already either in the region or in the state,” Schrank said. “We did not arrest any international visitors that had come in for the World Cup games.”
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Beyond the arrests, investigators said the operation focused on identifying and helping victims.
According to HSI, investigators identified 54 possible victims of human trafficking, and 25 accepted services and assistance.
Anyone with information about suspected human trafficking can contact Homeland Security Investigations at 1-866-347-2423.
Victims seeking help can contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text HELP or INFO to 233733 (BeFree).
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