144 Suspects Arrested in Las Vegas Homeland Security Task Force Operation: 290 Firearms, 1,124 Kilograms of Narcotics and Over $1 Million Seized
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced in Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada, on October 29 that Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) Core 8's Operation Loaded Dice, launched in July 2026, arrested 144 suspects across the greater Las Vegas metropolitan area and seized 290 firearms, 1,124 kilograms of narcotics and more than $1 million in cash and other assets.
The approximately three-month initiative focused on disrupting and dismantling transnational criminal organizations, gangs and other criminal networks involved in illicit firearms and narcotics trafficking, bulk cash smuggling and associated violent crime in the greater Las Vegas metropolitan area. Through intelligence-driven investigations, coordinated enforcement actions, surveillance, controlled purchases and sustained investigative partnerships, the HSTF disrupted multiple criminal organizations, and the enforcement actions led to 13 new HSTF investigations coordinated with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Nevada.
The investigations included networks associated with the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or CJNG, as well as other regional drug trafficking organizations, gangs and trafficking networks. The 290 firearms seized included machine guns.
"Operation Loaded Dice demonstrates the impact of a unified law enforcement response to the criminal organizations that endanger our communities," said Erin Burke, Homeland Security Investigations Los Angeles Special Agent in Charge. Christopher S. Delzotto, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Las Vegas field office, said strong policing requires true partnership, respect and community trust. DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Brandon Lesky said the operation netted more than $1 million in assets, 290 firearms and about 1,100 kilograms of narcotics, taking 144 suspects off the streets.
The HSTF was established pursuant to President Trump's Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, as a whole-of-government partnership focused on eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations and human smuggling and trafficking networks operating in the United States and abroad. HSTF Core 8 consists of special agents, officers, analysts, prosecutors and support personnel from participating federal, state, local and regional agencies, with federal prosecutions coordinated with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Nevada.
Federal partners include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Diplomatic Security Service, the Federal Air Marshal Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Nevada and the U.S. Marshals Service. State, local and regional partners include the Clark County District Attorney's Office, the Henderson Police Department, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the Mesquite Police Department, the Nevada Gaming Control Board, the Nevada Highway Patrol, the North Las Vegas Police Department, the Nye County Sheriff's Office, the Reno Police Department, the Sparks Police Department, the Washoe County Sheriff's Office and the White Pine County Sheriff's Office.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国移民与海关执法局（ICE）位于 Washington 的总部大楼。GSM联邦机构固定图库照片，经 Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 4.0。 / Photo: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters building in Washington. GSM federal agency library photo, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
