In a coordinated strike against criminal activity in South Memphis, the Memphis Police Department's "Operation All Off Boyd." A crackdown aimed at gang activities and illegal drug trade, resulted in multiple arrests and confiscations, as FOX13 Memphis reported.
The operation took place at the troubled intersection of Tate Avenue and Boyd Street, an area interim Police Chief C.J. Davis described as a locus for gangs and violence, MPD officers working along with federal agencies rounded up 11 individuals on felony charges, seizing 13 handguns, two rifles, and an assortment of drugs including marijuana, meth, and ecstasy pills and nearly five thousand dollars taken as evidence, gangs such as the All Up the Blade Gang, known locally as AOB, were the focus of these efforts, according to The Commercial Appeal.
During the arrests made on June 7, law enforcement executed three search warrants and monitored around 50 potentially armed individuals, MPD detailed the confiscated weapons, some equipped with Glock switches, capable of transforming them into fully automatic firearms, as well as the various narcotics found in the suspects' possession; interim Chief Davis highlighted the community's plight, hostage to gun violence and various crimes, making their neighborhood a hub for criminal plotting and execution, Davis told FOX13 Memphis.
Residents expressed relief at the intervention, with one resident only comfortable with her first name of Elaine saying, "We can't ride down the street without seeing guns and children," she expressed her hope that the MPs operations continue in a fashion akin to what they're currently executing, to cleanse the streets Elaine told WREG.
The operation, which included help from the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol, has brought into custody several individuals, including Ketorian Richards, Jerrico Carwell, and James Polk, all facing serious charges related to firearms and drug offenses, reflecting MPD's ongoing effort to reclaim neighborhoods from the grips of crime and violence as a means to provide a safe environment for its residents, echoing Davis's sentiment, "We have only just begun in the Memphis Police Department," words she relayed at a press conference detailed by The Commercial Appeal.
