Governor Tate Reeves announced the results today of the Mobile Enforcement Team deployment that recently took place on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast.
This effort involved the surging of law enforcement personnel and resources into coastal communities.
“This operation means far more than just drugs and criminals off the streets. This means safer neighborhoods, safer roads, less threats to our kids and families, and an improved quality of life,” said Reeves. “We’ve sought to undermine existing criminal enterprises and to bolster the ongoing efforts of local law enforcement leaders and that’s exactly what this deployment accomplished.”
The plans for the deployment and the partnership between multiple local, state, and federal agencies was first announced by Governor Reeves on May 11.
The coordinated law enforcement operation’s goal was to directly target and counter violent crime, deter narcotics distribution, get illegal firearms off the streets, and keep communities safe. The initiative was led by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics.
The MET deployment netted 170 arrests and resulted in 152 felony charges and 111 misdemeanor charges.
Two human traffickers were arrested. One trafficker was a United States citizen, while the other trafficker was an illegal immigrant. They were arrested attempting to smuggle a total of nine illegal aliens into the country. These arrests were a result of two separate stops initiated by U.S. Border Patrol agents. Both traffickers are being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi and the nine illegal aliens were transported to a detainment facility for processing.
Additionally, the following narcotics and items were seized:
- 5,574 dosage units of fentanyl
- 3.5 ounces of heroin
- 16 grams of cocaine powder and crack cocaine
- 50 dosage units of LSD
- 5 ounces of hallucinogenic mushrooms
- 4.9 pounds of marijuana
- 21 ounces of THC wax and edibles
- 43 firearms
- $207,109 in currency
- 2 stolen vehicles
The following agencies participated in the MET Deployment:
- Mississippi Department of Public Safety
- Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics
- Mississippi Highway Patrol
- Mississippi Office of Homeland Security
- Commercial Transportation Enforcement Division
- Mississippi National Guard Counterdrug Unit
- Mississippi Department of Corrections
- Mississippi Department of Marine Resources
- Mississippi Department of Revenue, Alcoholic Beverage Control
- Gulf Coast High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
- FBI Safe Streets Task Force
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations
- Hancock County Sheriff’s Department
- Harrison County Sheriff’s Department
- Jackson County Sheriff’s Department
- Bay St. Louis Police Department
- Biloxi Police Department
- D’Iberville Police Department
- Gautier Police Department
- Gulfport Police Department
- Long Beach Police Department
- Moss Point Police Department
- Pascagoula Police Department
- Pass Christian Police Department
- Ocean Springs Police Department
- Harrison County Fire Service
- American Medical Response
