By admin 
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – The FBI launched its second annual Operation Summer Heat, a 95-day nationwide initiative aimed at combating violent crime.
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In Arizona, the effort has resulted in 23 violent crime arrests and the identification and rescue of three child victims in its first 30 days.
Agents assigned to violent crime and criminal squads are working to arrest violent criminals and fugitives, dismantle violent gangs, identify and rescue child victims, and seize illegal drugs.
Jon Edwards, assistant special agent in charge of the Tucson FBI office, said the initiative also allows the agency to direct national resources to local law enforcement partners.
“They’ll work together with other federal agencies and our local agencies to identify those groups through the intelligence process, and then they’ll come up with operational plans to target them and then, you know, obviously, get them off the street,” Edwards said.
Edwards said violent crime trends higher during the summer months and that the timing of the operation is intentional.
“I would say that, you know, our violent crime in the summer months is definitely probably more,” Edwards said.
Drug-related offenses are a significant focus of the operation, particularly in southern Arizona. Edwards said drug trafficking and violent crime are closely linked in the region.
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“People look at drugs as maybe not quite a violent crime, but we look at it as, you know, the violent crime and violent offenders and the drugs — they go hand in hand,” Edwards said.
He said criminal enterprises operating in southern Arizona frequently extend beyond drug trafficking.
“It’s a criminal enterprise approach that those individuals, especially here in southern Arizona, that are moving drugs, they’re often involved in far more. To include, you know, violations involving weapons, violations involving human trafficking, fraud, money laundering, you name it,” Edwards said.
Last year, Operation Summer Heat resulted in more than 400 arrests in Arizona, more than 100 drug and weapon seizures, and more than 100 child victims located. Drug seizure numbers for the current operation have not yet been released.
“The FBI takes violent crime seriously, and we’re gonna do our part to keep our community safe,” Edwards said.
Operation Summer Heat runs through September.
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