After three years and the efforts of a multi-agency investigation, dozens of victims of human trafficking are free from the fetters of “modern-day slavery” on South Georgia farms.
The over 100 victims were smuggled from Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras and brought to the farms where they were “imprisoned” under “inhumane” and “brutal” conditions, and forced to work for little or no money. At least two workers died, and one was allegedly raped repeatedly.
The indictment is dubbed “Operation Blooming Onion,” and a spokesperson from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia told VICE News, it may be one of the largest-ever human trafficking and visa fraud investigations in the country.