FBI arrests more than 400 people in New England during ‘Operation Summer Heat’
Federal law enforcement made more than 400 arrests across New England over three months in a nationwide crackdown on violent crime dubbed “Operation Summer Heat,” authorities announced Monday.
The Boston Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested 404 people, conducted 129 drug seizures, recovered 38 weapons, and identified or located 27 missing children in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island between June 24 and September 20, according to Ted E. Docks, special agent in charge of FBI Boston.
“Operation Summer Heat is a snapshot of what our agents, task force officers, and analysts do daily to target, apprehend, and bring to justice the most dangerous, violent criminals wreaking havoc in our communities,” Docks said in a statement. “This record-setting operation removed gang members, drug traffickers, child predators, and bank robbers from our streets.”
The FBI reported some highlights from the operation in New England:
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There were 52 arrests made in western Massachusetts alone.
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Two Massachusetts men were caught with 73 kilos of cocaine worth an estimated street value of over $1 million.
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In New Hampshire, there were 12 individuals indicted for allegedly conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, fentanyl, carfentanil, and cocaine.
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Southern Maine drug raids resulted in 35 arrests.
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Seventeen alleged gang members were taken off the streets of Rhode Island.
On a national level, FBI field offices netted 8,629 arrests, with more than 6,500 falling under the FBI’s Violent Crime and Gang program, officials said. These operations also led to the seizure of 2,281 weapons, 44,569 kilograms of cocaine, and 421 kilograms of fentanyl, which officials estimated is enough to kill 50 million Americans.
Additionally, a total of 1,053 child victims were identified or located across the country, officials said.
“Rest assured, while summer is behind us, your FBI is not letting up,” Docks vowed.
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