Skip to content
1 min left · finish 6:18 PM
Email
GCCURRENT
Estero Current
Gator CurrentEstero — southwest Florida's growing voice
Good afternoon, Columbus☀️64°F · Clear

Advertisement · Why this ad?

  1. Home
  2. /Sports
  3. /281 arrested in 7-day Polk County undercover operation
Sports

281 arrested in 7-day Polk County undercover operation

Katherine Langford
Katherine Langford
Katherine Langford
Editor-in-Chief · Edina, MN

Katherine oversees editorial operations across all six brands. Before joining The Meridan Group, she spent 14 years at the Minneapolis Star Tribune, where she led the metro desk through its digital transformation. She holds a Master's in Journalism from Northwestern's Medill School.

More from Katherine →
Editor-in-Chief · Friday, October 30, 2026 at 4:05 PM · 1 min read
Text size
Typeface
Line spacing
Theme
Focus mode
Email
281 arrested in 7-day Polk County undercover operation — Estero Sports news

POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WWSB) - Polk County law enforcement officials said a seven-day undercover operation resulted in 281 arrests and 488 new charges, including 198 felonies.The operation, called “Polk Around Find Out II,” included simultaneous investigations focused on people accused of traveling to meet children for unlawful sexual activity and commercial-sex activity, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.“Those who came to Polk County expecting to sexually abuse a child, found cuffs instead,” Attorney General James Uthmeier said during the news conference.Authorities said those arrested had a combined 798 prior criminal charges. Officials also said 24 suspects had firearms and 32 people were charged with drug possession.The sheriff’s office said 17 people arrested during the operation worked at theme parks. Sheriff Grady Judd said Disney told investigators it had fired employees connected to the arrests. Judd said he had not received an update from Universal about the employ

Up next‘She’s a miracle’: Family says 2-year-old is healing after crash that killed her parentsSports · 1 min read
#high-school-sports#giving-back

More Sports stories

‘She’s a miracle’: Family says 2-year-old is healing after crash that killed her parents — ABC 7 Suncoast SWFL
Sports

‘She’s a miracle’: Family says 2-year-old is healing after crash that killed her parents

By Katherine Langford

Youth sports coach sentenced for sexually assaulting 12-year-old girl he coached — ABC 7 Suncoast SWFL
Sports

Youth sports coach sentenced for sexually assaulting 12-year-old girl he coached

By Katherine Langford

Humid and rainy conditions return to the Suncoast — ABC 7 Suncoast SWFL
Sports

Humid and rainy conditions return to the Suncoast

By Marcus Chen

This family runs a distillery in an old fire station — ABC 7 Suncoast SWFL
Arts

This family runs a distillery in an old fire station

By Marcus Chen

Also covering Florida

Winter ParkWinter GardenOviedoLake MaryWindermere
GCCURRENT

Estero Current

Part of the Gator Current Network

Estero — southwest Florida's growing voice. Hyper-local community news covering 40 Florida cities.

Sections

CommunityReal EstateBusinessSchoolsGovernmentSports

Latest Stories

Could you survive 90 days without power? Expert sounds alarmSome voters with felony convictions face new rules for the midtermsDeputies say scene near Palm Drive in Punta Gorda is safeHow to check water safety before a lake or river outingSarasota County jury convicts man of second-degree murder in 2025 North Port shooting

About

Gator Current publishes independent community news across Florida. Local reporters. Non-partisan. Community-first.

RSS FeedNetwork Directory

© 2026 Gator Current — gatorcurrent.com

PrivacyTerms

A product of Edina Automation LLC

You're offline — showing the last loaded page
HomeSearchSaved