NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — At least 17 people were taken into custody Tuesday as the Drug Enforcement Administration and its partners dismantled an MS-13 cell operating within Nashville, officials said.
According to the DEA, following a nine-month investigation, authorities conducted a series of search warrants throughout Nashville on Tuesday, Sept. 16, leading to the arrests of at least 17 members and associates of MS-13 across Tennessee, California, and Oklahoma.
In addition, law enforcement said they seized bulk quantities of marijuana, counterfeit pills, cocaine, THC vapes, and liquid psilocybin, as well as multiple firearms, including assault rifles.
Federal drug investigations ongoing across Nashville
“These arrests represent a critical milestone in DEA’s mission to dismantle drug trafficking organizations operating in the United States and around the globe – prioritizing those designated by President Trump as Foreign Terrorist Organizations,” DEA Administrator Terrance Cole said in a statement released Tuesday. “MS-13 has left a trail of violence and devastation across communities nationwide. The residents of Nashville are safer today now that these dangerous individuals will be held accountable for their destructive actions. Today’s enforcement actions are not the last. More will follow, and we will not stop until MS-13 is no longer able to inflict harm on our communities.”
“The actions taken today against MS-13 are the first of what will be many strikes against those who prey on the weak in our society,” said Louisville Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jim Scott. “The DEA and our law enforcement partners will not allow foreign terrorist organizations to operate in our communities. We will hunt you down and bring you to justice.”…