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Florida officials say they recovered 163 missing children during a five-day operation that reached into six other states, Puerto Rico, and 12 countries.

Getting into it: In an announcement by Attorney General James Uthmeier and Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass, officials described Operation Statewide Shield as the state’s first statewide child recovery effort and one of the largest in American history. The kids were as young as 2 months old and as old as 17.

According to AG Uthmeier, “Many of these kids have been victimized by those who prey on the most vulnerable. Thanks to the outstanding work of FDLE, the Office of Statewide Prosecution, and our state and local partners, these children are now safe and receiving the care they deserve. Florida will continue leading the recovery of missing children, hunting down every predator, and prosecuting abusers to the fullest extent of the law.”

The recoveries broke down as 46 in the Tampa Bay region, 41 in Miami, 32 in Jacksonville, 21 in Orlando, 12 in Fort Myers, eight in Pensacola, and three around Tallahassee. Investigators also located children in Alabama, California, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, and Puerto Rico, along with Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Dominica, Finland, Ghana, Guatemala, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Spain, and Taiwan.

Officials noted that the 163 cases are not one network. Uthmeier said the cases covered everything from custody fights and runaways to neglect and foster care placements, with trafficking alleged in some.

Three arrests have been announced so far. Michael Prescott, 42, of Jacksonville, was arrested Aug. 21 by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office on three counts of lewd and lascivious battery involving a victim between 12 and 16, plus felony battery and aggravated assault. Robert Ferral Allison, 29, of Cape Coral, was arrested Aug. 20 by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office on a charge of lewd or lascivious battery involving a victim between 12 and 16. Jayden Allen Harwood, an 18-year-old from Jacksonville Beach, faces charges of interference with the custody of a child and resisting an officer without violence.

Uthmeier’s Office of Statewide Prosecution and the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office are handling three felony cases out of the operation, and Uthmeier said prosecutors will seek maximum sentences, including the death penalty where applicable.

This all comes as investigators say more arrests are expected, with open investigations still running across the state and officials yet to identify everyone behind the trafficking networks.