Federal, state and local agencies seize 500 pounds of drugs in ACTT operation

Operation Silverbell

A multi-agency enforcement operation organized under a U.S. interagency effort to combat trans-border threats netted nine suspects, an AK-47 assault rifle and 498 pounds of marijuana on Feb. 1 near Interstate 8 in Stanfield, AZ.

The night of Feb. 1, federal, state and local agencies jointly moved to arrest smugglers trying to move the drugs across the Arizona border, said U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Feb. 3. The operation, led by the Bureau of Land Management, included Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operation (ERO), the Arizona Department of Public Safety; Tucson Sector’s Border Patrol; Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Air and Marine; and the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office.

“Operation Silverbell” as the action was called, was undertaken as part of the Alliance to Combat Transnational Threats (ACTT).

ACTT is a collaborative enforcement effort established in 2009 that leverages capabilities and resources of over 60 federal, state, local and tribal agencies in Arizona and the Government of Mexico to combat individuals and criminal organizations that pose a threat to communities on both sides of the border.

“The Alliance to Combat Transnational Threats is a great initiative. It brings together all the right players and unites them working towards a common goal,” stated Jon Young, State Chief Ranger – Arizona.

The operation, which involved the use of detection equipment and air assets, illustrated unprecedented levels of cooperation, coordination and communication between agencies to deny, degrade, disrupt and dismantle smuggling organizations, said CBP.