Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch today announced the completion of a weeklong cybercrime operation known as Operation Cold Turkey that led to the arrest of four individuals on charges related to child exploitation.

“Throughout this operation, we were able to remove dangerous predators from communities in Mississippi and prevent them from doing further harm,” said Fitch. “I am grateful to the dedicated investigators and prosecutors from the Attorney General’s Office and to our partners in local, state, and federal law enforcement for their work on this operation and every day to clear the Internet of child predators.”

Operation Cold Turkey, which ran from November 11 to 15, 2024, involved AGO investigators and partner law enforcement locating individuals attempting to lure children online to meet for sex or to send child pornography. Throughout the course of the operation, they served nine search warrants, made four arrests for child exploitation, and developed countless leads that may result in additional arrests. Forrest County Sheriff’s Office hosted the operation, which also included the following agencies:

• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• George County Sheriff’s Office
• Hancock County Sheriff’s Office
• Jackson County Sheriff’s Office
• Jackson Police Department
• Jasper County Sheriff’s Office
• Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS)
• Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office
• Pike County Sheriff’s Office
• Stone County Sheriff’s Office

The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office manages and operates the Mississippi Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, which is comprised of more than 80 law enforcement agencies and 130 law enforcement personnel from across the state to address threats to Mississippi’s children.

If you have information about a child being sexually exploited online, please report it to 1-800-843-5678. The hotline is manned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and these CyberTips are reported to the Attorney General’s Cyber Crime Division.