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SALT LAKE CITY -- A three-month federal enforcement effort concentrating on trans-national gangs affiliated with drug trafficking resulted in 678 arrests nationwide, including more than 100 in Utah, according to officials.
"It was a very aggressive enforcement operation," said ICE's Homeland Security Investigation Resident Agent-in-Charge Mark Cutchen.
It's a wake-up call for the state of Utah that we do have these gang members here, and they've come from surrounding states to try and find refuge here.'
–ICE Resident Agent-in-Charge Mark Cutchen
Those arrested in “Project Southern Tempest" were either a member of a trans-national gang or an associate, he said. Everyone from street-level dealers to some "heavy hitters" were arrested, Cutchen said. Agents seized various amounts of weapons, money and drugs, including marijuana and methamphetamine.
"It was a very significant enforcement effort. I think we did send a very strong message, 'They're certainly not welcome here in Utah,'" Cutchen said.
Of the 104 arrested in Utah, 42 were in Salt Lake County including 14 in Salt Lake City, 27 were in Utah County, 15 were in Weber and Davis counties and 14 of those arrested were in St. George.
Out of those arrests, 86 are being prosecuted on federal or state criminal charges, and 76 are foreign nationals from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Belize, 13 of whom had been previously deported.
"It's a wake-up call for the state of Utah that we do have these gang members here, and they've come from surrounding states to try and find refuge here," Cutchen said.
Related:
Immigration officials announce new gang arrests
Immigration agents have arrested more than 600 gang members with ties to drug smugglers in the past three months, the largest such roundup since 1965.Those arrested face charges ranging from kidnapping to robbery, along with drug-related charges.
"These are individuals who are tied to kidnapping, sexual assaults, drug charges, weapons violations," Cutchen said. "It really runs the gamut, but these are certainly the worst of the worst."
Most of those arrested will face criminal charges, including felony re-entry after deportation. Authorities say, there are stiffer penalties each time they illegally return to the U.S.
Asked how much of Utah's illegal drug situation was due to drugs shipped from other countries or foreign nationals coming to Utah to set up marijuana growing operations, Cutchen said he didn't have exact figures but believed it was a "relatively significant amount."
Cutchen said while “Project Southern Tempest" resulted in significant arrests, it won't end the drug problem.
"This is a battle. It's going to be a long road that will require a sustained effort. You arrest 104 and 104 are lurking about to take their place," he said.
During the operation in Utah, officers made ICE's 20,000th gang arrest since the launch of the agency's national anti-gang initiative in 2005. A 29-year-old gang associate and Mexican national who taken into custody Dec. 6, 2010, in Salt Lake City was that 20,000 arrest. He was wanted in Tucson, Ariz., for sexual assault, kidnapping and aggravated assault.
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Story written by Pat Reavy with contributions from Sandra Yi and Randall Jeppesen.
