The U.S. Marshal Service conducted a month-long operation targeting known gang members and violent crime suspects in the metro-east.
A special initiative called “Operation Wash Out” targeted St. Clair and Madison Counties and an area around Centralia throughout March. It netted 153 arrests, 62 guns, nearly $43,000, two vehicles and 26.9 kilograms of narcotics, according to the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois.
Three of those arrested may be connected to murders in St. Clair County, the U.S. Attorney’s office stated in a release. Their identities have not been released, pending federal indictments.
“Multiple federal , state and local law enforcement agencies worked countless hours concentrating their efforts on known gang members, wanted subjects and other violent offenders,” said U.S. Attorney Steven Weinhoeft in a statement. “Federal law enforcement is at its best when coordinating our resources to focus on those who present the biggest threat to public safety.”
Several law enforcement agencies were involved in the initiative, besides the Marshal Service’s Great Lakes Fugitive Task Force. They include: The Bureau of Alcohol , Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives; FBI (Springfield office, Safe Streets Task Force); U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations; Illinois State Police; Illinois Department of Corrections; St.Clair County Probation; Granite City Police Department; Alton Police Department; Belleville Police Department; Centralia Police Department; and sheriff’s departments from St. Clair, Madison, Jefferson, Effingham, Marion and Clinton counties.
“This operation is a great example of our local, state and federal law enforcement partners working together to have a significant impact on reducing violent crime in our communities,” said Jeremy Wyatt, acting U.S. Marshal for Southern Illinois. “Thank you to all of the law enforcement officers that participated in this operation and put it on the line every day to ensure a safer community for everyone,” said Wyatt.
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