FBI crackdown leads to 88 arrests in Chicago, dozens of guns seized
Inside FBI Chicago's Operation Summer Heat 2.0
A nationwide FBI crackdown on violent crime has led to dozens of arrests here in Chicago.
CHICAGO - A nationwide FBI crackdown on violent crime has led to dozens of arrests in Chicago.
Operation Summer Heat 2.0
The backstory:
The investigations spanned the nation and the crimes ranged from drug trafficking and carjackings to kidnapping and murder.
It's all part of a coordinated crackdown on violent crime.
"The numbers alone are impressive and historic," said Robert Wieczorek, assistant special agent in charge with FBI Chicago.
This was Operation Summer Heat 2.0, the second year of a nationwide FBI initiative, bringing together federal, state and local law enforcement to target violent offenders.
"The reason why this is unique and significant is because we were able to – as the FBI holistically – able to identify and target the most violent offenders in every city in the United States," said Wieczorek.
Across the country, the scale of the operation comes into focus.
"We arrested over 8,900 violent criminals. We seized over 5,000 firearms. We took 687 kilos of fentanyl off the streets," said Wieczorek.
More than 27,000 kilos of cocaine was also seized and nearly 650 children, some of them victims of human trafficking, sexual exploitation and kidnapping, were identified, located and recovered.
Eight of those kids were found in the Chicago area.
Wieczorek oversees the office's violent crimes program.
"Chicago is a big part of the puzzle. You can't have a violent crime initiative without the City of Chicago," he said.
Locally, agents arrested 88 suspected violent offenders, recovered 47 firearms and made 40 major narcotics seizures.
Wieczorek says the operation targeted bank robbers, child sexual predators and gangs.
"Three was entire groups of individuals, street gangs, that were driving violence in specific neighborhoods that were able to entirely clear out," Wieczorek said.
One of the gangs at the center of the crackdown: Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal organization.
As part of Operation Summer Heat 2.0, three alleged members of that gang were federally charged in connection with the kidnapping and killing of a man on Chicago's South Side.
They are 26-year-old Josue Pacheco Torres, 19-year-old Julian Pachano and 20-year-old Kleiver Monasterio Briceno.
Prosecutors said the victim was abducted in May and later found dead inside an abandoned building.
Dig deeper:
The initiative also led to the recovery of dozens of firearms across the Chicago area, including AK-47s.
But, of particular concern to investigators, devices known as "switches," which can be attached to pistols.
"Which effectively makes the pistol an automatic weapon. We found an alarming amount of switches and not only are they dangerous because of the high capacity rounds that they can shoot in a short period of time… It has like a spray effect where pretty much anything and everyone around is in extreme danger," Wieczorek said.
Beyond the arrests and seizures, Wieczorek said the operation's impact can also be measured by what it means for victims.
What's next:
While Operation Summer Heat 2.0 has come to an end for the season, the FBI says its work to investigate violent crimes continues.
The Source: The information in this report came from the FBI, federal prosecutors and an interview with Robert Wieczorek, assistant special agent in charge with FBI Chicago.