Task Force Impacts Nighttime Drug Dealing in San Francisco Tenderloin

Crackdowns on nighttime fentanyl trafficking recently increased in San Francisco's Tenderloin district as part of a joint law enforcement operation called “All Hands on Deck,” U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey announced during a recent press conference alongside agents from the DEA and FBI. The joint initiative between local, state and federal authorities was announced in November 2023.

The overnight operations resulted in the alleged seizure of more than 11 pounds of fentanyl and 5 pounds of methamphetamine, as well as $20,000 in cash, resulting in more than 20 federal criminal complaints.

Ramsey has indicted more than 90 people on drug distribution-related charges in the Tenderloin District since the program launched last November, resulting in more than 70 convictions, according to a news release issued Thursday.

“Federal agents are now deployed to hold drug traffickers accountable no matter the time of day,” DEA Special Agent in Charge Brian Clark said Thursday. “Our presence clearly shows that we do not have time to protect ourselves from law enforcement in our neighborhoods. »

Since the program's inception, courts have handed down harsh sentences to drug traffickers, extradited suspected drug traffickers from Honduras, and prosecuted money services operators who turn a blind eye to drug trafficking and money laundering in their businesses. networks, according to Ramsey.

“Our goal is to change the equation for drug traffickers,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Tripp said in the release. “As the consequences of choosing to supply medicines over the net become more serious, retailers and suppliers will need to reassess their risks. Is it worth it? Our goal is to show that the answer is no.

Deploy their resources

Investigators used wiretaps, arrests and searches throughout the Bay Area to enable drug seizures, curbing the flow of drugs and distributors entering San Francisco from neighboring counties, according to the Thursday press release. Other features of the program include increased efforts to track down fentanyl suppliers, conducting joint federal and SFPD operations to make on-site arrests for open-air drug trafficking.

“Our drug crisis has been fueled in part because selling fentanyl has become a lucrative vocation for people who have found our neighborhoods, and primarily the Tenderloin District, to be a convenient, risk-free market,” Ramsey said when the program was announced in November. . “Today's message is simple: selling fentanyl in the Tenderloin will result in your arrest and prosecution. »

Under this program, Ramsey's office federalized and expedited certain cases traditionally handled by state and local governments, expediting cases so that only one month elapsed between arrest and disposition of cases. 'a suspect.

“Our drug crisis has been fueled in part because selling fentanyl has become a lucrative vocation for people who have found our neighborhoods, and primarily the Tenderloin District, to be a convenient, risk-free market. Today's message is simple: selling fentanyl in the Tenderloin will result in your arrest and prosecution.

U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey

“Law enforcement methods traditionally applied to drug trafficking in our neighborhoods have simply not met the challenges posed by this new drug,” Ramsey said. “Yet the tools used by law enforcement can address some of the root causes of this epidemic. »

Arrests of street dealers and fentanyl suppliers who operate near federal buildings are also a focus of the operation. These buildings include the James R. Browning United States Courthouse at 7^th and Mission Streets, the Nancy Pelosi Federal Building at 7^th and Mission Streets, as well as the Phillip Burton Federal Building and the U.S. Courthouse at 450 Golden Gate Avenue.

Federal, state and local officials and community leaders committed to All Hands on Deck attended both press conferences.

“The current conditions on our streets are completely unacceptable and require all levels of government to work together to shut down open-air drug markets and hold suspected drug dealers accountable for the unprecedented deaths and addiction their trade has caused in our city…” San said. Francisco County District Attorney Brooke Jenkins in November. “Every legal resource available to us must be used to deter and disrupt blatant drug trafficking in our community. »