Local law enforcement headed to Poland to join anti-trafficking effort at Ukraine border - KWTX
WACO, Texas (KWTX) - The Human Trafficking Unit at the McLennan County Sheriff’s Office is flying to Poland to protect Ukrainian refugees from human traffickers.
“They’ve been requested to come to Poland and help fight human trafficking,” said Sheriff Parnell McNamara. “That says a whole lot for the human trafficking program here, and I’m very proud of that.”
McNamara says some of the young girls and women being brought across the Ukraine border into Poland are being taken advantage of--and they want to help.
“These thugs are pouncing on them, taking them to their homes, brutalizing them, prostituting them, sexually assaulting them and so forth,” said McNamara.
Human trafficking detective Joseph Scaramucci will be joining Waco-based Unbound, an anti-human trafficking organization, which is already in Ukraine trying to thwart trafficking.
“You’ve got people that are in kind of the worst position they could ever be in right, so they’re fleeing a worn-torn country, they’re leaving with very little, they’re not, you know, filling everything they own up and coming across the border, you just have people that are vulnerable walking across,” said Scaramucci. “And anywhere that you have vulnerability, you’re going to have somebody that’s wanting to exploit that.”
Scaramucci says their role will be training the border patrol and law enforcement in Poland.
“Also assisting with identification, using some technologies we have access to that they necessarily don’t, to help identify people who may be there for nefarious reasons,” said Scaramucci.
He says Unbound has been going into Ukraine to connect with refugees before they cross the border to pass out information on safe places to stay and ‘red flags’ to look out for.
“One of the things they’re finding is--traffickers, and those that are trying to sexually abuse women and children, are posing as aid relief workers and offering aid and or places to stay and live, and then as the women are going with them they’re obviously being sexually exploited while they’re there,” said Scaramucci.
The unit flies out Monday and will stay for about ten days.
“It’s vey brave on their part, going there,” said McNamara. “McLennan County is going to be well represented in Poland helping these poor Ukrainians who are fleeing their country,”
If you’d like to aid the anti-trafficking effort, go here.
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source: https://www.kwtx.com/2022/03/30/local-law-enforcement-headed-poland-ukraine-border-help-anti-trafficking-effort/
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