Tren de Aragua Gang Members Arrested, 287 Guns, Fentanyl Seized in Texas ATF Raid

Federal and Texas law enforcement officials arrested 76 people and seized hundreds of guns and 22 kilos of drugs during a two month operation targeting violent crime in the Fort Worth area. Included in the arrest were identified as illegal aliens, including suspected Tren de Aragua gang members.

“Our intention was to reduce violent crime in Fort Worth, Texas,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nancy Larson for the Northern District of Texas, talking about the Operation Showdown joint operation. “And we did it together.”

“The removal of 76 gun and drug traffickers from the streets will have a lasting impact on this city,” Larson added during the press conference. “They are no longer out there pedaling their guns and their drugs, which would have led to more and more crime.”

Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn said his department provided SWAT teams, K9s, and drones to work alongside the ATF agents. “We remain committed to protecting our communities, combating violent crime, and ensuring justice is served,” the sheriff said in a post on Facebook.
The two-month operation led to the arrest of 76 people, CBS News reported. Many of the people arrested had violent criminal convictions, Larson said.

The operation led to the seizure of 287 firearms, the article states. Nearly 150 of the firearms were described as “machine gun conversion devices.”

ATF Dallas Field Division Special Agent in Charge Bennie Mims said that one of the seized firearms was used in a shooting just three hours before being seized. Three other weapons were tied to homicides and 22 were reported as stolen.

NBCDFW reported that Eduardo Chávez, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Dallas Office, added, “That is a staggering amount when you look at it. Fentanyl cannot fade into the white noise of our society. It has to stay at the forefront because families and lives are affected. With the amount of contraband seized here, it’s very apparent that there are some neighborhoods where parents can freely let their kids maybe have an afternoon play date out in that front yard or apartment complex without fear.”

Kieth Brown, the executive director of the Texoma High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, told reporters, “I can assure you, if you look at this table, you look at the criminal histories of these people, you look at the guns and drugs pretty clearly here on this table — there are people that will be alive in the future because all these people did their jobs today.”

Police arrested 76 people, including 56 who now face federal drug charges for trafficking cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl.

“Others are in our country illegally and have suspected ties to the Venezuelan transnational criminal organization Tren de Aragua, also known as TDA,” U.S. Attorney Larson said.

In addition to the arrests and firearm seizures, law enforcement teams seized more than 22 kilograms of narcotics. Officials said the drugs included an estimated 240,000 potentially deadly doses of fentanyl.

Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrels told reporters, “If you choose to poison our streets, you will be met with the full force of the law. No exceptions, no excuses.”

Fort Worth Interim Police Chief Robert Allredge said, “I can tell you that our communities are safer today than they were 60 days ago.”

Larson said those migrants arrested who are illegally present in the U.S. will likely be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement after they serve their sentences, if they are convicted.