=DeSantis Probe Of Human Traffickers Cleared By Florida Supreme Court==

The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday gave permission to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to order a statewide probe into alleged human trafficking activities aided by transnational crime organizations (TCOs).

The court approved DeSantis’s request to impanel a statewide grand jury for an initial duration of 12 calendar months to investigate TCOs and their affiliates who allegedly smuggle people—especially children—across the southern border, according to court records reviewed by The Epoch Times.

The statewide grand jury would independently investigate the criminal activities alleged in the petition, including human smuggling, kidnapping, and laundering of illegal substances, and make recommendations on current laws and law enforcement methods if deemed necessary, according to the petition.

Judge Ellen S. Masters, Chief Judge for the Tenth Judicial Circuit, will preside over the grand jury.

“The purpose of the grand jury will be to investigate individuals and organizations that are actively working with foreign nationals, drug cartels, coyotes, to illegally smuggle minors—some as young as 2 years old—across the border and into Florida,” DeSantis said during a press briefing on June 17.

“Many children who are smuggled are ‘assaulted, raped, kidnaped, and/or killed,’” the petition reads. “They are used to traffic drugs and weapons, as well as launder money.”

The petition continued by citing government data that Border Patrol agents have apprehended over 108,000 unaccompanied children who had illegally crossed the border in fiscal year 2021.

Almost all unaccompanied minors are being smuggled up from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, or El Salvador, according to Customs and Border Protection data.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/desantis-probe-human-traffickers-cleared-florida-supreme-court