MILTON, Fla — Thanks to an eagle-eyed deputy, two teen boys were rescued from human traffickers in Florida.
According to a press release, the 17 and 14-year-old boys were recently smuggled into the country from Mexico into Texas.
But it was while their accused traffickers were driving down a Florida highway that the group was stopped for a moving violation. That's when a deputy began to see "indicators" of possible human trafficking and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement was notified.
“A deputy's keen eye and immediate multiagency cooperation were instrumental in rescuing two children,” said Chris Williams, Chief of Investigations for FDLE Pensacola Regional Operations Center. “I'm proud of the deputies and agents who teamed to bring two human traffickers to justice.”
Investigators believe the boys were being trafficked for forced labor. The teen's families say they each paid more than $1,000 for the boys to be smuggled into America in addition to each teen also being required to pay off additional travel debt.
Frank Moreno, 39, and Jackson Perez-Godinez, 21, were arrested and face two counts of human trafficking and two counts of human smuggling.
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