Feds Raid Florida Labor Camp

Federal agents have raided a Florida labor camp where they say homeless men and women lived in a type of modern-day slavery.

Ronald Evans, the boss at one of North Florida's largest labor camps, and three associates face federal charges in a case that officials say is likely to grow. Seventy-eight potato field workers have been interviewed at the Evans Labor Camp south of Jacksonville. Some were arrested on unrelated, outstanding warrants.

Officials say the homeless people were lured to the camp with offers of room and board. They were then apparently supplied with drugs, alcohol and tobacco on credit. Investigators say the homeless people would work in the field to pay back the debts, but never earned enough to clear their accounts.

In a small central shed, investigators found about 100 rocks of suspected crack cocaine along with cigarettes and beer. The Environmental Protection Agency is also looking into alleged illegal dumping of raw sewage into a nearby waterway.

The raid on the Evans Labor Camp, a drab, horseshoe-shaped complex largely hidden from public view, marks a significant step in the federal government's crackdown against abuse of the men and women who harvest Florida's rich crops.

"The word is out that we are concerned about human trafficking, and we will leave no stone or camp unturned," said Steve Cole, a spokesman for Jacksonville U.S. attorney Paul I. Perez, whose office is prosecuting the case.

The raid was led by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of the Inspector General, and also included the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency's Criminal Investigation Division. As DEA and Justice chase drug and worker exploitation issues, the EPA is examining environmental failings at the camp, such as the potential dumping of raw sewage.

For years farm worker advocates have said that abuse of laborers remains rampant in Florida as growers profit from the sweat-drenched work. In recent years, a dozen farm contractors, smugglers and henchmen have landed in prison for up to several years for crimes against farm workers, including slavery.