FBI rescues 82 children, arrests more than 200 in sex trafficking sting

Eighty-two minors were rescued and 239 accused traffickers and their associates have been arrested in Operation Cross Country X, an international effort focusing on underage human trafficking that ran late last week, the FBI announced today in a news release.

The annual FBI-led effort to combat underage human trafficking took place October 13-15, rescuing 82 children between the ages of 13 and 17 nationwide.

The FBI refused to release any other details about the arrests - including the names of those arrested - but did say that they were tipped off to many of these victims through social media as well as tips through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

There's been 540 child sex trafficking cases opened up by the FBI so far in the current fiscal year, with another thousand or so cases pending investigation.

More than 6,100 kids have been rescued since the first Operation Cross Country took place in 2003.