The FBI says they've recovered 105 missing and exploited children over the weekend by orchestrating a massive crackdown on crime rings that trafficked minors for sex.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation made the announcement Monday morning, and reportedly has arrested 150 pimps involved in selling minors through an underground sex trade that exploited missing children ages 13 through 17 around the country.

According to a statement made early Monday by Ronald Hosko, the agency's assistant director of their criminal investigative division, the coordinated raids in more than 70 cities under the name "Operation Cross Country" marked the largest effort of its type ever undertaken by the FBI.

The FBI has provided video footage documenting some of the raids that occurred in Atlantic City, New Jersey and Washington, DC.


John Ryan of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said his group partnered with the FBI to assist with the initiative.

The trafficking, said Ryan, largely involved selling children for sex over online websites, classified papers and highway truck stops, and occurs on the streets of "every city in America." FBI investigators added that some of the men involved in pimping children did so at large sporting events across the country.

According to Reuters, the youngest victim was only nine years old.

"We congratulate you on the recovery of 105 children and the arrest of 150 pimps. Operation cross country is saving lives and brining to justice those who violently manipulate these children and sell them for sex," Ryan said at Monday's press conference.

"We must remember that these children are victims. They are too young to consent to having sex," Ryan said.