St. Joseph Post
The St. Joseph Police Department, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and the Missouri State Highway Patrol announced Saturday that a successful human trafficking operation was completed late Friday night at two St. Joseph truck stops – Bucky’s and Love’s Travel Stop.
The joint operation, organized by St. Joseph Police, the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Missouri Attorney General’s Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force, resulted in three arrests, with an additional arrest pending, and the rescue of six adult victims – five female and one male.
Two children, a two-year-old and an infant, were also rescued. The victims were offered food, lodging, onsite medical services, counseling/therapy and drug rehabilitation.
“Last night, my Office’s Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force, in coordination with multiple law enforcement agencies, conducted a successful human trafficking operation at two truck stops in St. Joseph, resulting in 6 victims and 2 children being rescued and 3 arrests,” said Attorney General Schmitt in a release.
“This operation was successful because of cooperation between my Office, the St. Joseph Police Department, the state highway patrol, the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office, and 13 other agencies and departments. This unprecedented success should send clear a message to traffickers: you are not welcome in Missouri, and you can’t hide any longer.”
The Attorney General’s Office Human Trafficking Task Force consists of law enforcement and victim service providers from around the state working together to combat human trafficking, rescue victims and making communities safer.
In all, 16 agencies participated in the operation, including St. Joseph Police, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Attorney General’s Office, Kansas City Police Department, Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office, Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Marshals, Department of Corrections, Probation and Parole, State Parks and others.
Further details about the operation cannot be released at this time, as the investigation is ongoing.
