Criminal Division
Drug & Violent Crime Unit
Prosecutors in the Drug and Violent Crime Unit work with federal criminal investigators to bring the higher echelons of drug trafficking organizations to justice. The Unit works with task forces of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in applying the most advanced investigative technology available against drug trafficking organizations. These initiatives have resulted in increasingly complex and comprehensive federal prosecutions of narcotics traffickers in the District, which has been designated a Gulf Coast High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA).
The Office has in place an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program. OCDETF is one of the first multi-agency enforcement efforts to work in close coordination with federal prosecutors in the investigative stages of major cases involving violent drug gangs. The HIDTA and OCDETF approaches are reflected in cases involving extensive multi-agency investigations which require participation of prosecutors in case development, using wiretaps, telephone tolls, undercover operations, and other investigative techniques unique to federal law enforcement.
Prosecutors in the Drug and Violent Crime Unit continue to work with federal law enforcement agencies and federal task forces to suppress violent crime in the District. Through our Project Safe Neighborhoods program, effective working agreements have been developed with local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors. The tough federal statutes and penalties for criminal possession and use of firearms have enabled our office to send some of the District's most violent individuals to prison. In addition, federal prosecutions have been brought against bank robbers, arsonists and others who use violent means to further criminal acts.