The FBI arrested 86 people and recovered 156 weapons during a three-month operation targeting violent gangs and drug-trafficking organizations operating on tribal lands.
Operation Trusted Trails ran from May 1 through July 31 as part of Operation Steadfast Promise, the bureau’s broader initiative to reduce violent crime in Indian Country. The FBI said it deployed additional investigators and intelligence resources across 11 field offices while working with tribal, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
The operation resulted in charges against 50 people and 62 drug seizures, according to the FBI. Agents seized approximately 25 kilograms of methamphetamine and four kilograms of cocaine.
“The FBI’s ‘Operation Trusted Trails’ throughout this summer took on some of the most violent crime in Indian Country,” FBI Director Kash Patel said. He described the effort as one of the bureau’s most successful summer enforcement surges conducted with tribal partners.
Patel said the FBI has assigned more than 400 agents and staff members to work involving Indian Country and now operates 30 Safe Trails Task Forces. The task forces bring together federal, tribal, state and local authorities to investigate violent crime, gangs and drug trafficking affecting tribal communities.
The Safe Trails program grew from Operation Safe Trails, a partnership formed in 1994 between the FBI and the Navajo Department of Law Enforcement in Flagstaff, Arizona.
The FBI did not provide a breakdown of arrests, charges or seizures by state, reservation or participating field office in its announcement. The agency also did not identify the alleged gangs or transnational organizations involved.
Anyone with information about crimes in Indian Country may contact a local FBI field office, submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI. Tips may be submitted anonymously.
About the Author
Discover more from Right Now Oregon
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
