In Pine Bluff and Little Rock, Arkansas, the FBI, along with federal, state, and local partners, arrested 45 individuals for drug and firearm offences.
Two FBI-led operations targeted competing gangs in an effort to reduce violence and drug trafficking in the Pine Bluff to Little Rock area. One case centered on the EBK or Every Body Killas gang, and 35 defendants were indicted. The second investigation targeted the Loady Murder Mobb and led to the indictment of 26 people.
The final operation, led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, focused on mail-order sources that supplied drugs that were then sold to persons in Arkansas and Texas. In this case, a total of 18 individuals were indicted, while another defendant was charged in a separate indictment.
FBI Little Rock Special Agent in Charge James Dawson stated, “Today’s operation and arrests are the culmination of a multi-year, multi-agency investigation targeting violent organizations that preyed upon Arkansas communities.” “Over the past two years, FBI agents and law enforcement partners in Arkansas have worked tirelessly to investigate and confront the violence affecting our state. Today, their initiatives have delivered much-needed respite to central Arkansas’s embattled neighborhoods.”
Eight of the 80 charged suspects in the three investigations were already in custody when the operation began.
FBI and other law enforcement agents resumed their search for the other 72 suspects early in the morning; 45 were successfully apprehended. In addition to these arrests, investigators recovered four weapons, small quantities of illicit substances, and $30,000 in cash.
Dawson stated, “We are appreciative to the several agencies who participated with this operation, especially the police departments that have investigators assigned to our task force.” “We are also grateful to the committed prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, who continue to ensure violent criminals in Arkansas are held accountable for their illegal conduct.”
These endeavors are a component of multiple Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operations. Using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach, these operations aim to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most dangerous criminal organizations posing a threat to the United States.