Anti-drug trafficking operation leads to charges against nearly 200 people nationwide

The U.S. Justice Department recently concluded a series of nearly 200 arrests across the country as part of a large-scale operation against drug-trafficking organizations.

The cases spanned four districts and 10 states, as part of a calculated approach by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices – and their partners – to reduce violent crime.

“Over just three days and across 10 states, the Justice Department has charged nearly 200 individuals for their alleged roles in major drug trafficking operations,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said. “These cases represent just a fraction of the work our agents and prosecutors are doing every day to target, disrupt, and dismantle the cartels and drug trafficking organizations that are poisoning the American people.”

Charges began to appear on Jan. 23, 2024, at which point 19 defendants in the District of Nebraska and another 40 in the Southern District of Mississippi were charged. Those from Nebraska were accused of roles with a meth distribution ring, while those in Mississippi were accused of participating in multiple drug-trafficking organizations distributing meth, cocaine and other illegal narcotics. In both cases, drugs and firearms were seized during affiliated arrests.

The next day, the Northern District of West Virginia announced charges against 82 defendants for drug trafficking based in the Eastern Panhandle. Fentanyl was the lead focus there, but officers also reportedly seized cocaine, methamphetamine, firearms and hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets over the course of their investigation.

Rounding things out was the announcement of charges against 54 defendants from the District of Alaska on Jan. 25, 2024. They were accused of involvement in a large-scale organized crime ring, which used the U.S. Postal Service and distributors to traffic drugs to Alaskan communities. Law enforcement intercepted fentanyl, meth, heroin and cocaine supposedly related to the enterprise between February 2022 and July 2023.

“Every year, tens of thousands of Americans die from illicit drugs trafficked into our communities, including fentanyl and other synthetic opioids,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said. “This wave of indictments and arrests — stretching from Alaska to Mississippi and from Nebraska to West Virginia — shows the reach of the Justice Department and our partners across the country and around the world when it comes to disrupting narcotics trafficking.”

All operations in question were part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces operations.