Meth and fentanyl were also recovered.
- Operation Blackjack Pasco County
- Operation Blackjack Pasco County Florida
- Operation Blackjack Pasco County Fl
— We’re learning about the nearly 40 gang members cuffed and jailed in a big investigation unfolding in the Tampa Bay area. It was a three-year investigation ending with more than. The investigation, named “Operation Blackjack,” lasted more than three years and included state and federal prosecutors, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Pasco Sheriff’s Office.
November 19, 2018 at 11:14 pm
Almost 40 white supremacist gang members were arrested during a Florida drug sting.
The 39 arrests were the result of Operation Blackjack, a three-year investigation into the Unforgiven and United Aryan Brotherhood gangs, according to WFTS. The Southern Poverty Law Center describes the Aryan Brotherhood as “the nation’s oldest major white supremacist prison gang and a national crime syndicate.” The Unforgiven is a similar, newer white supremacist group based primarily in Florida's penal system.
The sting was carried out by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which partnered with the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office.
Over 110 illegal weapons were recovered from the gangs' Tampa Bay facilities Thursday. These weapons included firearms, a rocket launcher and two functional pipe bombs. The bombs belonged to 31-year-old Richard Mormon. Investigators are unsure of Mormon’s plans for the explosives.
Illegal drugs, mostly meth and fentanyl, were also seized.
Operation Blackjack Pasco County
“In getting these 39 dangerous individuals off of the street and seizing guns and explosives that could have been used in violent acts, the community of Pasco County is a little safer,” ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Craig Kailimai said during a press conference.
The defendants face anywhere from two years to life imprisonment. Charges include possession of a firearm by a felon, drug possession and drug distribution, reports Newsweek. Some of the gangsters have already been sentenced to lengthy prison terms while others await trial.
Operation Blackjack Pasco County Florida
“I want to send a message to these defendants that you can’t keep coming in and out of prison and come back and affect the community with violence and drug trafficking,' U.S State Attorney for Middle District of Florida Maria Chapa Lopez declared.
Operation Blackjack Pasco County Fl
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