With a little more than two weeks until the first FIFA World Cup match in Dallas, local and federal law enforcement agencies announced Wednesday the conclusion of a major operation targeting organized crime in North Texas. Representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, ATF Dallas, FBI Dallas, Dallas police, Frisco police and other agencies said Operation Red Card focused on violent crime, drug trafficking and human trafficking networks ahead of the international tournament. Officials said the operation lasted about 10 weeks and involved efforts to seize drugs and firearms, arrest offenders and disrupt criminal activity. “It is evident that this operation has been an extraordinary success leading up to the FIFA World Cup,” said Ryan Raybould, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas. Raybould said the operation resulted in about 250 indictments. Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux praised the coordination between local and federal agencies. “Right here, this is what right looks like. Us, working together to keep everyone safe in Dallas,” Comeaux said. “I love working with my federal partners and U.S. Attorney’s Office for us to continue to keep everyone safe in Dallas.” Comeaux said fugitive operations tied to the U.S. Marshals Task Force have led to more than 1,300 arrests involving felony warrants. “We’re over 1300 arrests of individuals that don’t belong on the streets because of felony warrants,” he said. The chief also discussed the department’s drone program and preparations underway before the first World Cup match. “We’re trying to get everything set up before the first game. It’s a lot of moving hands when it comes to that,” Comeaux said. “Right now, we have eight drone docking stations up. And we are using them now when it comes to first responders.” “And listen, when those drones are up, you can see clearly different criminal activities that are taking place,” he added. Federal enforcement operations have faced scrutiny nationwide in recent months. Raybould addressed questions about balancing heightened security with maintaining a welcoming atmosphere for visitors. “They are vigorously enforcing the law but they’re also great men and women that are representatives of the institution that they represent, and they do ton of outreach events, they do reentry events,” Raybould said. “So that’s their job. I expect that to continue.” Jake Holmes, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, also addressed immigration enforcement and drug trafficking investigations. “Tackling illegal immigration and tackling drug trafficking are really one in the same fight,” Holmes said. “Multiple drug houses, based on intelligence we received, revealed that networks of people in the United States are leveraging their connection back in their home countries.” Joseph Rothrock, FBI special agent in charge, said officials used security planning from previous Super Bowls as a reference point for the World Cup, though he noted the scale of the tournament is much larger. “Here in Dallas, that’ll be more matches than any other host city in the United States,” Rothrock said. “As far as comparing this World Cup to previous World Cups, it really doesn’t compare. It’s the first time that we’ve seen the World Cup hosted in three different countries.” Raybould said Project Safe Neighborhoods, a federal initiative focused on reducing violent crime through partnerships with local agencies, will continue beyond the World Cup. He said the program has been in place for 20 years and uses local crime data to identify areas needing additional enforcement resources. ...read more read less