Increased nighttime drug enforcement operations in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district have netted over 70 convictions in federal court since November, according to prosecutors.
Since the “All Hands on Deck” initiative began in November, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California, has charged over 90 people with distributing drugs in the Tenderloin, resulting in 70 convictions, the press release said.
The operations have seized 11 pounds of fentanyl, 5 pounds of methamphetamine, and over $20,000 in cash, according to authorities.
Law enforcement has deployed new tactics to deter fentanyl dealers, including more arrests of street dealers and suppliers in the Tenderloin, especially near federal buildings.
The buildings, which reportedly are hot spots where homeless people congregate, include the James R. Browning U.S. Courthouse and the Nancy Pelosi Federal Building at 7th and Mission Streets, and the Phillip Burton Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse at 450 Golden Gate Avenue.
Federal authorities and officers from the San Francisco Police Department are conducting “jump out” operations in the Tenderloin, surprising criminals “on the spot” and making arrests for open-air drug dealing.
Charges are also being brought against people who operate money service operations—such as wiring money, cashing checks, and selling money orders—and turn a blind eye to drug trafficking, according to officials.
To reduce the flow of drugs to San Francisco, authorities are also using targeted wiretaps to enable drug seizures, the press release said.
Also, certain federal cases are being fast-tracked so that they take as little as a month from arrest to being resolved, officials said.
FBI special agent Robert Tripp and U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey made the joint announcement with Mr. Clark of the DEA.
Mr. Ramsey said “numerous” sentences have been dished out to drug dealers since November, in addition to extradition of dealers from Honduras.
