Operation Triple Beam Press Conference

This week, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez joined U.S. Marshal William Berger, Fort Myers Police Chief Derrick Diggs, State Attorney Amira Fox of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit, and Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno to highlight the results of Operation Triple Beam (OTB), a U.S. Marshals-led, 90-day operation to reduce violent gang crime.

OTB was designed to target and arrest violent fugitives and criminal offenders who committed high­ profile crimes such as homicide, felony assault and sexual assault, illegal possession of firearms, illegal drug distribution, robbery, and arson.  Each local, state, and federal agency employed enforcement techniques and statutory authority in order to disrupt the criminal operations of violent gangs and offenders in Fort Myers and surrounding areas.

The operation concluded on August 1 and resulted in 120 arrests. Law enforcement officers seized 45 firearms, more than $100,000 in drugs -- to include marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin -- and more than $18,000 in currency.

The operation was conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service Florida/Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force, along with the Fort Myers Police Department, Lee County Sheriff's Office, Cape Coral Police Department and the Federal Bureau of  Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.