Federal drug sweep leads to 22 arrests in West Memphis

Authorities have arrested more than 20 people in West Memphis on federal drug indictments as part of a multiyear investigation that culminated Wednesday morning in a sweep by federal agents and police officers, officials said.

The second phase of operation “Money Don’t Sleep” resulted in the arrests of 22 people on federal drug charges, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison Bragg.

Over a two-year period, investigators seized 1.2 kilograms of methamphetamine, 12 firearms, and more than $8,000 in cash, a news release said. In addition, a search warrant executed before Wednesday’s arrests resulted in the seizure of half a pound of methamphetamine, $7,500 in cash and a firearm.

“One of the people arrested in the operation has ties to MS-13,” said Cody Hiland, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, at a news conference Wednesday in West Memphis.

La Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as MS-13, is one of the world’s largest and most violent street gangs, according to the U.S.

Department of Justice. The group has between 50,000 and 70,000 members concentrated in mostly urban areas in Central America or locations outside the region where there is a large Central American diaspora.

The “Money Don’t Sleep” operation, conducted by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, is an ongoing investigation focused on lowering the violent crime that stems from the distribution of illegal drugs, according to a release from Hiland’s office. The goal of the operation, the release said, is to identify and dismantle multiple drug-trafficking organizations that distribute cocaine and methamphetamine.

“We continue to see a more violent drug trafficking trade across the county,” said Justin King, assistant special agent in charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration. “We are targeting organizations that are breaking down the fabric of our community by selling drugs. We are here to make West Memphis safer.”

Wednesday’s arrests conclude the second phase of an investigation initiated in 2015 by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Little Rock office and the West Memphis Police Department. The first phase of the operation resulted in the arrests of 50 defendants in July 2017.

With those drug traffickers removed, new distributors filled the void left in the drug market, leading to Wednesday’s arrests, officials said.

The name of the operation came from officers noticing that suspects were selling drugs at all hours, officials said.

“In law enforcement, we are never going to be able to hang a mission accomplished banner,” Hiland said. “Crime will always be there, but it doesn’t mean we can’t reach back and break its jaw every now and then.”

All of those arrested in the operation will be charged in federal court, which means that if they are found guilty, they will have to serve their entire sentences, Hiland said.

“There has to be accountability for criminals,” Hiland said. “When the price is too cheap, then crime goes up.”

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s district office in Little Rock and the West Memphis Police Department were assisted by several other agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Marshals Service; FBI; U.S. Federal Probation; Arkansas State Police; Crittenden County sheriff’s office; Arkansas Department of Community Correction; and the Counter Drug Program of the Arkansas National Guard.

“We are not done,” King said. “We will continue.”