Mississippi Joins Nationwide Human Trafficking Operation; 7 Victims Recovered in Southaven

JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi law enforcement joined a nationwide human trafficking crackdown on September 10 that recovered 79 victims and led to 125 arrests across 22 states, Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced.

In Mississippi, the Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Task Force led the state’s participation, with the operation in Southaven resulting in the recovery of seven victims. State investigators and prosecutors worked with the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office, Southaven Police Department and the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control division, while Transformation Garden, the Mississippi Coalition Against Human Trafficking and Tabernacle Southaven provided services and treatment to the recovered victims.

“My office is committed to taking criminals who traffic people off our streets and equally committed to setting victims on the road to recovery,” Fitch said. “Developing partnerships with law enforcement agencies both within Mississippi and across the country is a priority for the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office.”

The Southaven effort was the 67th human trafficking operation led by the task force. Together, those operations have produced 205 arrests and the recovery of 402 victims, including 24 minors.

The national effort, known as Operation Coast to Coast, was launched in 2024 as an initiative of the Human Trafficking Training Center to spur a coordinated nationwide response to human trafficking. This month’s operation recovered 79 victims nationally, including five juveniles.