Franklin County Sheriff Jeff Richards is a member of the Human Trafficking Advisory Board for the Kansas Attorney General. He is very familiar with the escalating issues related to illegal human and drug trafficking operations. He attributed these problems primarily to insufficient law enforcement at the southern border. In an interview with Federal Newswire, Richards says cartels make more money in trafficking people than they do in trafficking substances. He says most of the drugs being seized/recovered in our area can be linked back, through lab results, to cartels south of the border. He says that while Franklin County does not see sex trafficking, there is cartel operated human smuggling activities, which are predominantly labor related.
Richards believes a contributing factor is what he calls an “open southern border” and he is very critical of lack of prosecution by federal authorities for cases involving illegal entry. He suggests securing the border and allocating additional trained staff and resources for law enforcement.
