JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – A two-week statewide law enforcement effort resulted in 72 arrests and the recovery of 29 human trafficking victims, according to Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R-Miss.).

Operation Guardian Force was led by the Attorney General’s Office Human Trafficking Task Force, Fentanyl Strike Force, and Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.

According to Fitch, the operation ran from July 14 to July 29, 2025, and worked in partnership with 400 federal, state, and local law enforcement officers to effectively coordinate search warrants, arrests, and victim services. She

said the operation also included a sex offender compliance check to locate and identify sex offender registry absconders.

The following agencies participated:

• Bay St. Louis Police Department
• Biloxi Police Department
• Desoto County Sheriff’s Office
• Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
• Forrest County Sheriff’s Office
• Harrison County Sheriff’s Office
• Hattiesburg Police Department
• Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)
• Horn Lake Police Department
• Jackson County Sheriff’s Office
• Jones County Sheriff’s Office
• Lamar County Sheriff’s Office
• Lee County Sheriff’s Office
• Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI)
• Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics (MBN)
• Mississippi Department of Revenue – Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC)
• Mississippi Office of Homeland Security
• North MS Narcotics Task Force
• Saltillo Police Department
• Southaven Police Department
• Stone County Sheriff’s Office
• Tunica County Sheriff’s Office
• Tupelo Police Department
• Wayne County Sheriff’s Office

In addition to law enforcement partners, the Gulf Coast Center for Nonviolence, Center for Violence Prevention, and Transformation Garden provided services and treatment to the victims.