EL DORADO — Federal prosecutors say law enforcement officers have arrested 54 people in four southern Arkansas counties as part of Operation Street Sweeper, which targeted drug, violent and gang-related crime.
U.S. Attorney Conner Eldridge’s office says the arrests on Tuesday occurred in Ashley, Columbia, Ouachita and Union counties. Federal indictments alleging drug trafficking and firearms offenses were unsealed against 12 people, and the other 42 were taken into custody on state warrants.
Authorities say the defendants face charges ranging from felon in possession of a firearm to conspiracy to distribute and distribution of controlled substances, including crack cocaine, methamphetamine and Oxycontin.
Deputies from Columbia, Ouachita and Union counties, as well as officers from the Camden; Crossett; El Dorado; Magnolia; Arkansas State University and Southern Arkansas University police departments participated in the operation.