FBI Director Kash Patel announced Tuesday the start of “Operation Summer Heat 2.0,” a nationwide violent crime and narcotics crackdown that officials say will expand on last summer’s initiative credited with thousands of arrests, major drug seizures, and the recovery of hundreds of endangered children.
The nationwide operation is beginning three weeks earlier than the effort during President Donald Trump‘s first year in office, Patel said from a press conference on Tuesday, as he also announced a 35-defendant drug bust in West Virginia that involved the arrest of three illegal aliens.
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“Summer Heat last year led by then-Deputy Director Dan Bongino was a historic success getting the worst of the worst criminals off the street, seizing record amounts of narcotics and identifying or locating almost 600 children,” Patel told the Washington Examiner in an exclusive statement.
Patel traveled to Martinsburg, West Virginia, on Tuesday to announce the initiative during a press conference highlighting the results of Operation Turf War, a multiagency investigation led by the FBI’s Pittsburgh and Baltimore Field Offices targeting drug trafficking organizations operating in West Virginia, Maryland, and surrounding jurisdictions.
The results on Tuesday were two unsealed indictments against two alleged drug trafficking organizations accused of distributing cocaine, crack cocaine, and other controlled substances throughout the Northern District of West Virginia and parts of Maryland.
U.S. Attorney Matthew Harvey said investigators seized about 25 pounds of cocaine, approximately three ounces of crack cocaine, 17 firearms, body armor, roughly $285,000 in cash, and various vehicles and luxury assets tied to the alleged trafficking networks. The DOJ in a press release named 19 defendants, including six individuals who officials say are still at large.
Patel described the West Virginia operation as the opening salvo of this year’s nationwide enforcement push.
“Operation Turf War is the start of the FBI Summer Heat initiative this summer under the leadership of President Trump,” Patel said.
During last year’s operation, which took place between June 24 and Sept. 20, the initiative resulted in 8,629 arrests, the seizure of 2,281 firearms, and 2,081 criminal indictments. Authorities also identified or located 557 children, conducted 7,757 search operations, and seized over 900 pounds of fentanyl and almost 10,000 pounds of cocaine.
Throughout Tuesday’s announcement, federal officials emphasized cooperation between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies as a key component of the initiative. Patel also said there would be an expansion of FBI forensic resources that will provide state and local agencies broader access to DNA analysis tools and databases.
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“Through our nationwide crackdown with all 56 field offices participating and working with partners we are saving lives and making America safer than ever — continuing the most prolific run of crime reduction in American history led by President Trump,” the FBI director added.
Federal officials said additional Summer Heat operations are expected to unfold nationwide throughout the summer with a heightened emphasis on state and local law enforcement cooperation to combat criminal organizations, drug trafficking networks, and repeat offenders.
