Federal program to help crack down on fentanyl in Tenderloin

SACRAMENTO — State and local police cracking down on fentanyl dealing in the Tenderloin will get more help from federal law enforcement soon in response to a request from San Francisco Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker announced Friday.

The U.S. Department of Justice will include San Francisco in a federal drug enforcement program called Operation Overdrive, which aims to crack down on drug cartels in communities with the highest levels of drug-related violence and overdoses.

“The designation of Operation Overdrive for San Francisco is welcome news and a strong step forward to combat fentanyl trafficking,” Pelosi wrote in a statement. “Operation Overdrive will help our city address this tragedy by targeting the criminals who are doing the most harm, removing deadly fentanyl from our streets and reducing related violence.”

It’s the latest escalation of police work in San Francisco, and comes on top of an increased state police presence in the neighborhoods seeing the most open drug use. In early May, Gov. Gavin Newsom deployed California Highway Patrol officers to assist local police in the Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods and directed 20 California National Guard analysts to help investigate drug-dealing networks.

The state police work has led to a dramatic increase of drug arrests, but also concern that the CHP officers are increasing the use of pretextual stops in the city.

Operation Overdrive’s work in the city will begin in the next several months, Pelosi’s office said.