The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has arrested over 1,500 people after launching a new initiative in August.
Since the project was launched, the DEA has seized 2,135 firearms, according to an article published Tuesday by the Associated Press. The organization has also seized 162 kilograms of heroin and 158 kilograms of fentanyl, along with about $24 million in assets, the outlet reported.
More than 1,500 people were arrested in the last three months as part of a Drug Enforcement Administration project focusing on violent crime. The initiative comes as President Trump has touted similar operations as a much-needed answer to a spike in crime. https://t.co/mC0scrXUik
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 20, 2020
The initiative, nicknamed Project Safeguard, has focused on cracking down on suspects in violent criminal acts.
“By going after the violent crime, we’ve been able to investigate the larger regional groups,” DEA Administrator Tim Shea told the Associated Press. (RELATED: New York Pharmacist Allegedly Sends Cocaine To DEA Investigator In Charge Of Probe Into Business)
The DEA’s newest initiative comes as President Donald Trump has touted his “law and order” policies amid his reelection campaign. Trump has recently criticized Democrat-run cities for not cracking down on crime.
“I think a lot of people are looking [at] what is happening to these Democrat-run cities and they are disgusted,” Trump told reporters in September, according to The Hill.
“Take a look at Baltimore,” Trump continued, referencing the death of Freddie Gray back in 2015. “Take a look at St. Louis. Take a look at Ferguson, [Mo.]. Take a look at what happened.”