Super Bowl Also Brought Human Trafficking Concerns To Miami

MIAMI, FL — While Super Bowl 2020 brought countless celebrities to the Miami area and put South Florida in the global spotlight, it also had a dark underbelly.

New figures released by the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office on Thursday reveal local, state and federal law enforcement officials recovered a total of 20 suspected human trafficking victims around the big game.

“Trafficking survivors and other experts had previously warned us that our community would
attract human traffickers that look to take advantage of the economic impact and influx of
visitors produced by the Super Bowl itself,” acknowledged Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle.

Her office teamed up with local, state and federal agencies as well as community
organizations to begin tackling human trafficking concerns months before the game. In May of 2019, officials held a human trafficking forum that was attended by dozens of experts, law enforcement officials, representatives of support groups, prosecutors and even Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.

“Investments in creating greater community awareness are not just for the Super Bowl but can be important assets for the future,” Fernandez Rundle stressed.

The average sex trafficking victim is forced to have sex up to 20 times a day, every day of the week, in what has become a $32 billion industry across the United States. In contrast to the Hollywood portrayal of trafficking, victims are not generally kidnapped and brought to the United States in large container ships. The reality is they are recruited on American soil as early as age 12 and 13.

Victims are enslaved to a life of prostitution, working in unscrupulous massage parlors, strip clubs and various forms of adult entertainment.

In addition to the victims of human trafficking, law enforcement agencies also arrested five suspected human traffickers, eight johns and 34 possible human traffickers around the Super Bowl, according to the information released by the state attorney's office.

The collaborative effort among law enforcement agencies included representatives of the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Human Trafficking Task Force, U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI, Department of Homeland Security as well as a number of local police departments, including those from Miami-Dade County, Miami Beach and city of Miami.

Of the possible human trafficking victims, four were residents of Miami-Dade or Broward Counties. The other 16, were from elsewhere in the United States and four foreign countries.

The state attorney's office said three of the five suspected human traffickers were charged with federal offenses while two were charged with Florida offenses.

Officials conducted an awareness campaign ahead of the Super Bowl that included billboards and advertisements at various locations around the Miami area, including local airports.

Thousands of Super Bowl volunteers, hospitality workers, physicians, hospital employees, non-profit organizations, ridesharing companies, churches, schools and universities received special training on what to look for and who to contact.

“This united effort has not only led to arrests and recoveries, but has also provided us with information and leads that help us continue to successfully stop human trafficking in our community," Fernandez Rundle said.