Illinois Special Operations Sting in East St. Louis Nails 48

It has been a very busy past few days in the East St. Louis part of Illinois as a special operations sting just nailed 48 in the span of just 4 nights.

The Public Information Office of the Illinois State Police just released details of what just went down in the metro area of East St. Louis. The Illinois State Police Statewide Anti-Violence Enforcement South group worked from December 16 through the 19th with a focus on the most violent criminal activity. The press release said police units targeted "high crime areas, violent offenders, and structured criminal groups in the communities of the Metro East". Here is the result from that 4-day sting:

• Arrests 24
• Felony Charges 36
• Criminal Charges 48
• Firearm Related Charges 18
• Firearms Seized 9
• Controlled Substance Seized 28.3 grams
• Stolen Vehicles Recovered 1

Several stops during those nights found loaded firearms in vehicles which led to arrests.

38 officers participated in this sting including officers from these groups:

• Troop 6
• Troop 7
• Troop 8
• Troop 9
• Troop 10
• South Fatal Four Team
• North SAVE Team
• Division of Criminal Investigation Zone 6 Firearms Investigations Unit
• Air Operations
• Public Safety Enforcement Group
• Patrol’s Special Operation Group South Statewide Anti-Violence Enforcement Unit