Danelle Plaza, a strip mall known as the center of Tempe’s artistic community, was the site of a very different kind of gathering on Wednesday.
About 40 federal law enforcement vehicles and even more armed officers swarmed the plaza, drawing the attention of residents and the plaza’s businesses. According to a spokesperson at the site for Homeland Security Investigations — a division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement — the United States Marshals Service and HSI were conducting a narcotics operation nearby.
The operation was over around 10:40 a.m., when the unmarked vehicles began filing out of the plaza. The spokesperson — who did not identify himself to New Times — didn’t provide any details about the results of the operation, including if anyone was detained or where it took place…