Federal agents continue to investigate an alleged human trafficking operation that was busted near Floral City this afternoon.
Seven people were arrested in connection to the ring, including the driver of a van that was spotted by agents on Interstate 75 in Sumter County, the co-driver and five others who may have paid to be smuggled into the country, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent Steve McDonald said.
Authorities are sorting out the stories of the people arrested. The driver of the van has 12 aliases and identifying him will take some time, McDonald said. The van came from Arizona.
Authorities give this account of what happened about 1 p.m. today:
Customs agents followed the van into Citrus County after they determined it was being used to possibly smuggle people. The van took an exit on the outskirts of Floral City, turned down the side street and hit a dead end.
While the van was still rolling, seven people jumped out and ran.
Agents caught three people within minutes. Four were pursued by a Citrus County sheriff's helicopter, K-9 units and patrol deputies. One suspect was bitten by a deputy's dog during the chase.
McDonald said these types of smuggling operations are prevalent throughout the state and that there's been an increase this year in the number of human trafficking rings identified.
McDonald said it is unclear why there's been more cases recently than in the past.
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