Federal and State Violent Crime Initiative in Oklahoma City Receives National Award

OKLAHOMA CITY – On March 27, 2025, the National High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Program recognized a local joint law enforcement initiative with an award for “Investigation Involving a Violent Organization” at the National HIDTA Awards in Tysons Corner, Virginia.

Last September, federal and local law enforcement combined forces in a two-month targeted initiative called “Operation Sonic Boom,” which was aimed at reducing violent crime in Oklahoma City.  The operation resulted in 50 people being charged in federal and state court with various firearms and drug-related offenses.  In addition to the arrests, law enforcement recovered from the streets:

• 193 firearms, including:
  • 81 Pistols
  • 4 Revolvers
  • 10 Rifles
  • 6 Shotguns
  • 9 Machineguns, and
  • 83 Machinegun conversion devices (MCDs), including 30 partially completed MCDs
• Two 3-D printers (used to print MCDs)
• More than 63 kilograms of drugs, with an approximate street value of almost $750,000, including:
  • 53 kilograms of methamphetamine
  • 1.5 kilograms of fentanyl
  • 5.2 kilograms of cocaine, and
  • 3.8 kilograms of marijuana

Operation Sonic Boom was led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  Other critical partners included the U.S. Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office, the Oklahoma City Police Department, the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotic and Dangerous Drugs, and the Texoma HIDTA. 

“National recognition of this important initiative is yet another example of our commitment to promote public safety in the Western District of Oklahoma, and the ongoing, collaborative efforts by federal and state prosecutors and law enforcement at every level,” said United States Attorney Robert J. Troester. “The success of Operation Sonic Boom is the result of the dedicated and coordinated efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement to reducing violent crime in Oklahoma.”

“I could not be prouder of the men and women who participated in Operation Sonic Boom for winning this prestigious National HIDTA Award. However, as they would each tell you, they did not do this for recognition or honors; they did it to help keep Oklahoma safer from violent criminals plaguing our streets,” said ATF Dallas Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey C. Boshek II. “As I said in September, ATF, the United States Attorney’s Office, and HIDTA have doubled down in Oklahoma City. This award is merely the beginning of the work that is yet to be done. Bandits and gangsters beware; we are still here!”

“The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program exists to build law enforcement partnerships and provide critical funding for important public safety efforts, and the successful outcome of Operation Sonic Boom is a clear example of the value of HIDTA,” said Keith Brown, Executive Director of the Texoma HIDTA.  “I am proud the Office of National Drug Control Policy is recognizing the incredible efforts of the ATF agents and other law enforcement personnel involved in Operation Sonic Boom.”

Operation Sonic Boom was funded by the Texoma HIDTA, which is made up of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in North Texas and Oklahoma. HIDTA fosters and supports intra-agency cooperation strategies to target the region's drug-related and violent crime threats to public safety by using funding provided by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, out of the Executive Office of the President of the United States.