The Justice Department announced the arrest of more than 110 people on gun and drug charges in three states.
The large-scale operation in Georgia, West Virginia and New York follows recent efforts to combat violent crimes and keep repeat offenders behind bars.
“Today, the Justice Department has taken several significant enforcement actions to disrupt large-scale illegal gun and drug trafficking operations,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in the statement from the Justice Department.
“I am grateful to all of the Department’s agents, prosecutors, and staff involved in these actions, as well as to our state and local partners, for their tireless work. The actions taken today represent the work that is being done by this Department every single day to disrupt violent crime, combat gun violence, and get deadly fentanyl out of our communities,” he added.
The largest number of arrests in the operation occurred in Georgia where 76 defendants were named. The case includes methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin and alprazolam in the greater Glynn County area of South Georgia.
The penalties could include from 10 years in prison up to life, according to the Justice Department’s release.
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A total of 34 people were arrested in West Virginia involving two Baltimore-based drug trafficking operations with large amounts of fentanyl. At least two deaths have been connected to the drug indictments.
The arrests included residents from Maryland and Virginia as well related to the drug charges. Kentrel Anthony Rollins, also known as T-Rock, from Baltimore, is alleged as the leader of the fentanyl distribution operation in Hampshire County involved in the operation.
In New York, three men were arrested on seven counts of allegedly conspiring to traffic over 50 illegal firearms. David Mccann, Tajhai Jones, Raymond Minaya, and Calvin Tabron were named in the indictment, with Mccann and Minaya also charged with drug charges that included cocaine and fentanyl. They were arrested on Wednesday.
The firearms charges could include sentences of up to 15 years in prison, in addition to drug-related charges.
In a separate news release, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Brian Peace heralded the arrests as a success for his state.
“As alleged, the defendants are responsible for attempting to flood the streets of Brooklyn with over 50 deadly weapons, including ghost guns, as well as narcotics, feeding the cycles of gun violence and drug abuse,” Peace stated. “As the first prosecution utilizing new federal legislation in New York, and one of the first in the country, these arrests demonstrate this Office’s commitment to utilize all tools available to more effectively stop gun traffickers from endangering our community.”
