Matt Cooper joins Tim today as they dive deeper into the mind space of an undercover operator. We intentionally go to the darkest corners of the globe to rescue children from trafficking. They are the places no one else would go but a lot of what our operators see are things that no one should ever have to witness, let alone experience.  Tim reflects back on his experiences when he was first sent to undercover school, something he never sought to do. There isn’t anything inherent in police...

Tim and Matt Cooper talk today about coming face to face with human traffickers over the years and how they don’t necessarily look like the stereotypical creep you’d imagine.  One of the challenging aspects of this line of work, and a reason why child exploitation and human trafficking are so prevalent, is that there is no profile for a paedophile. You can’t easily identify who they could be because a lot of the time, they look like your friend, your neighbour, your pastor or your...

Special guest JC Holt, who heads up O.U.R.’s domestic projects, joins Tim today to talk about the incredible work being done to fight child crimes in the United States. Shockingly, the United States is in the top three destination countries for human trafficking, which means there is a lot of work to be done on the domestic front.  With a background in law enforcement, JC has changed the game in terms of what we’re able to achieve in the United States. He talks about his ability to interface...

Matt Cooper joins Tim to reflect on Operation Triple Take, O.U.R.’s first mission to Colombia which spun into a huge roundup of traffickers from the entire region and the rescue of over 50 people, most of whom were children. Tim tells the story of how the operation began, starting with a conversation with a trafficker named Feugo on the beach at Playa Blanca. Within minutes of talking, Feugo offered not only to supply children for a party but to go into business together to build a child sex...

Today, Tim and Matt are joined by Joel Pabelico, an investigator within the DA’s office in Riverside County. Joel has the very special assignment of being the handler of K9 Chewie, one of our K9 dogs that we sponsored to be trained with Jordan Detection K9. In this episode, Joel shares how K9s are trained to sniff out electronics in search warrants, and how a dog can be used to fight child crimes. Joel works predominantly in child sexual abuse material cases where suspects tend to hide...

Our first-ever employee, Matt Cooper, joins Tim today to share the reflections on the early days, starting with a crazy phone call and Matt leaving college to join Tim in Utah. Now 10 years and 150 employees later, Tim and Matt return to their first operation in Haiti, where they rescued 26 kids. Two of which Tim went on to adopt.  Back in those days, Operation Underground Railroad had just enough money to complete two operations, after which, their financial future was uncertain. All they...

In The Trenches tells the stories of Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.): an organization dedicated to rescuing victims of human trafficking and exploitation worldwide. O.U.R. works with national and international governments to provide cutting-edge forensic tools and training, develop intel, go undercover, carry out rescue efforts, and conduct aftercare for the survivors of human trafficking. O.U.R. Founder and CEO, and In The Trenches host Tim Ballard will explore these operations with...