12 dangerous criminals arrested, DOJ says
The arrests are an effort by the FBI, DEA, USMS, BIA, SD DCI, SD Highway Patrol, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety with assistance from the State of South Dakota in response to increased violent crime on the Pine Ridge Reservation including eight homicides since Sept. 1, information from the U.S. Department of Justice said.
VIDEO: 1977 escapee dies in prison
The individuals arrested are not low-level offenders – they represent a dangerous criminal element driving drug activity, intimidation, and deadly violence within the community, according to the DOJ.
'This coordinated operation represents a deliberate and strategic effort to dismantle violent criminal drug trafficking networks operating on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation,' Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of FBI Minneapolis, said in a statement. 'These arrests are the result of extensive investigative work targeting individuals responsible for driving drug-related violence. The level of violence affecting the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is unacceptable — and this operation is just the beginning. In the coming months, we will be participating in Operation Not Forgotten, a Department of Justice initiative focused on locating violent offenders and resolving long-standing cases. With this surge in resources, we will continue to work closely with our tribal, federal, state, and local partners to pursue justice and strengthen public safety.'
On April 1, the DOJ announced that the FBI would send 60 personnel, rotating in 90-day temporary duty assignments over a six-month period in Indian Country. This operation is the longest and most intense national deployment of FBI resources to address Indian Country crime to date.
At the beginning of Fiscal Year 2025, the FBI's Indian Country program had approximately 4,300 open investigations, including over 900 death investigations, 1,000 child abuse investigations, and more than 500 domestic violence and adult sexual abuse investigations, according to the April 1 news release.
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