Massive Fort Worth crime crackdown leads to 76 arrests, seizure of hundreds of guns and drugs
Dozens of alleged criminals, hundreds of illegal firearms, and a massive amount of narcotics are off the streets of Tarrant County after a major two-month law enforcement operation aimed at reducing violent crime.
Local, state and federal agencies announced the results of "Operation Showdown" during a news conference Tuesday, calling it one of the largest enforcement initiatives in recent Fort Worth history.
The operation led to the arrest of 76 individuals on firearm crimes, 56 of whom are also facing federal drug charges for trafficking cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl.
"Our intention was to reduce violent crime in Fort Worth, Texas," said Acting U.S. Attorney Nancy Larson for the Northern District of Texas. "And we did it together."
Larson added that many of those arrested were convicted violent felons.
"Others are in our country illegally and have suspected ties to the Venezuelan transnational criminal organization Tren de Aragua, also known as TDA," she said.
In total, agents seized 287 firearms, including 147 machine gun conversion devices that can turn semi-automatic weapons into fully automatic ones.
According to Bennie Mims, special agent in charge of the ATF Dallas Field Division, one of the guns had been used in a shooting just three hours before it was recovered. Three other firearms were tied to homicides, and 22 had previously been reported stolen.
In addition to the weapons, law enforcement recovered more than 22 kilograms of narcotics, including enough fentanyl for an estimated 240,000 potentially deadly doses.
"With the amount of contraband seized here, it's very apparent that there are some neighborhoods where parents can freely let their kids maybe have an afternoon play day out in that front yard or in that apartment complex parking lot without fear that a drug transaction is transpiring just a few parking stalls away," said Eduardo Chavez, special agent in charge of the DEA Dallas Field Division.
Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells said the arrests send a strong message.
"If you choose to poison our streets, you will be met with the full force of the law," he said. "No exceptions, no excuses."
Law enforcement officials say they conducted more than 200 operations throughout April and May, including undercover gun and drug purchases. They believe the crackdown will have a lasting impact.
"And I can assure you, if you look at this table, you look at the criminal histories of these people, you look at the guns and drugs pretty clearly here on this table — there are people that will be alive in the future because all these people did their jobs today," said Keith Brown, executive director of the Texoma High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.
The announcement comes just days after a violent weekend in Fort Worth, when five people were killed in four separate, unrelated shootings.
Officials acknowledged Operation Showdown won't put an end to all violent crime but said it's a meaningful step in the right direction.
"I can tell you that our communities are safer today than they were 60 days ago," said Interim Fort Worth Police Chief Robert Alldredge. "Yes, we did have a deadly weekend. It's very tragic. Many innocent people lost their lives. We have some great officers out in the field that are working tirelessly to make sure this doesn't happen. Granted, one loss of life is too many. But unfortunately, whenever those things happen, I can tell you the Fort Worth Police Department is dedicated to continue the work to prevent those from occurring in the future."
The people arrested during Operation Showdown have all made their first appearances in court, according to Larson. Their trials will likely happen in late summer or early fall.
Larson said the defendants who are in the country illegally will be turned over to ICE after they serve their sentences, if convicted.
This operation was made possible through $300,000 in federal funds.
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