The Department of Homeland Security recently launched the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) New York.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will co-lead the task force. It will use a whole government approach to identify, disrupt and dismantle criminal cartels, foreign gangs, and transnational criminal organizations (TCO) in New York and throughout the United States.
“The people of this city deserve to know that special agents and investigators at every level of law enforcement are standing side-by-side and collaborating under one roof, so that New Yorkers may go about their lives safely and comfortably,” HSI Special Agent in Charge Ricky Patel said. “The HSTF New York and HSI, as its co-leader, are driving coordinated investigations that strike at the heart of criminal networks and schemes both here and abroad. With unity as our strength and coordination as our advantage, we will outpace, outsmart, and outmaneuver transnational criminal organizations at every turn.”
HSTF New York is comprised of law enforcement personnel from state and local law enforcement and will focus primarily on investigating TCO foreign terrorist organizations. The task force model allows state, local and federal law enforcement to extend its reach. HSTF members can combine information from law enforcement investigations with information from intelligence community partners.