She's a real-life hero! Laurie Holden, who is known for her role as Andrea on seasons one through three on The Walking Dead, was recently part of an undercover operation that helped save 55 sex slaves in Cartagena, Colombia.
ABC News aired a segment this week on a volunteer-based group called Operation Underground Railroad, which was founded by former CIA agent and Homeland Security investigator Tim Ballard. The organization consists of everyday civilians, including 44-year-old actress Holden.
Ballard spearheaded a dangerous covert mission down to Cartagena to help rescue child prostitutes. His objective was to nab notorious trafficker Marcus Bronschidle; Meanwhile, he and his team were followed by hidden cameras for a documentary called The Abolitionists.
Holden's role in the operation was to keep the girls occupied while local undercover cops caught the traffickers exchanging money on camera. In an interview following the successful sting, an emotional Holden spoke about some of the girls who were rescued.
"When they first showed up, some of them looked really terrified," the former AMC star said. "I talked to a few of them and asked them how old they were. Some were 12. Some were 13. Most were 14. One of the girls came in, embraced me, started to cry, then I started to cry. It's a very um…." she choked up, unable to complete her sentence.
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Watch how they pulled it off above.
