Drugs, Firearms Seized and 47 Charged in Ohio

An eight-week operation aimed at countering gun violence and drug trafficking in Dayton, Ohio, has resulted in federal charges against 47 individuals, with 43 arrested by authorities.

Four suspects are still at large with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives offering a $5,000 reward for any information that leads to their arrests.

Operation Fly City, which began on April 27, also led to the seizure of “176 firearms, as well as machinegun conversion devices and kilogram quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine,” the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a June 22 statement. The charges against the 47 individuals “were brought via 20 federal indictments and three federal criminal complaints in Dayton over the past few weeks.”

The arrested individuals ranged from 19 to 55 years old. They were charged on various counts, including conspiracy to distribute cocaine, dealing in firearms without a license, distribution of methamphetamine, conspiracy to traffic firearms, distribution of fentanyl, distribution of cocaine, dealing in firearms without a license, and possession of a machine gun.

U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II said the operation had a simple goal—get drugs and guns off the street and out of the hands of dangerous individuals.

Dayton Police Chief Eric Henderson said the operation was a great example of things that can be accomplished when federal, state, and local agencies work for a common objective.

“By targeting individuals responsible for violent crime, illegal firearms, and drug trafficking, we are making our neighborhoods safer and sending a clear message that those who threaten our community will be held accountable,” Henderson said.

These cases are part of the Homeland Security Task Forces (HSTF), which were established pursuant to a January 2025 executive order signed by President Donald Trump.

The order highlighted an “unprecedented flood” of illegal immigrants into the United States under the previous administration, with many of them posing “significant threats to national security and public safety.” HSTFs were tasked with ending the presence of foreign gangs and criminal cartels in the United States.

According to the HSTF website, the task forces focus on six areas—narcotics and contraband, human trafficking and smuggling, weapons trafficking, financial crimes, transnational gangs, and intelligence fusion.

In total, more than 8,500 federal agents and analysts, and 440 state and local agencies across 52 states and territories are part of the HSTF initiative.

In a recent Facebook post, the FBI revealed the results of operations conducted by various agencies, including the FBI and CBP, against Mexican cartels operating along America’s southern border.

From April this year, a total of 423 operations were carried out by over 70 agencies, resulting in the arrests of 1,343 cartel members, the seizure of 2.5 metric tons (approx. 5,511 pounds) of narcotics, and the confiscation of 421 weapons.

The Department of Justice announced on June 10 that a federal grand jury indicted a Mexican trafficker who had imported “vast amounts” of methamphetamine into the United States.

The individual procured the narcotics from a drug trafficking group affiliated with the United Cartels, one of the most significant meth producers globally.