Officials with the West Tennessee Violent Crime and Drug Task Force said their efforts to combat violent crime and drug trafficking in the region are paying off, with hundreds of investigations, dozens of arrests, and significant narcotics seizures.
The task force’s director, Johnie Carter, told ABC24 that the team’s activities, while quiet, are critical to keeping communities safe.
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“We’re not out there making traffic stops. We’re not out there being on the news every single day, but we are working a lot behind the scenes,” Carter said. “Sometimes it takes days up to years to be able to get a drug dealer, depending on their level and just how the investigation goes.”
Since October 2024, the task force has conducted 245 investigations, leading to 126 arrests and more than 100 felony charges. Carter stated that the task team had confiscated 115 weapons, approximately 2,000 pounds of marijuana, and over 6,000 prescription pills, totaling nearly $367,000.
Local prosecutors, including Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy, Dyer and Lake County District Attorney Danny Goodman, and Haywood, Gibson, and Crockett County District Attorney Frederick Agee, have praised the program’s success.
Carter credits good collaborations with law enforcement agencies and state support for enabling these arrests. He told ABC24 that funding is critical, noting that Governor Bill Lee plans to raise grant funding to $750,000. Carter stated that the money will help the task force hire more agents and extend its operations.
As the task force celebrates huge victories in removing firearms and drugs off the streets, one Memphis-based group is addressing a different aspect of the crisis: assisting individuals trapped in the cycle of addiction and trafficking to find a way out.
Ben Owen co-founded the NGO We Fight Monsters, which focuses on human trafficking and addiction recovery. He stated that the organization works to convert previous trafficking facilities into recovery homes and assist survivors in rebuilding their lives.
“In the last three years, we’ve been able to shut down four fentanyl operations and one human trafficking operation,” Owen said.
Owen stated that thanks to state financing and partnerships with law enforcement, the task force’s operations have expanded beyond arrests to include recovery. He believes that programs like these help to change people’s lives and communities one at a time.
“We’re reducing recidivism. We’re reducing the taxpayer burden, right, and we’re fixing human beings,” Owen said. “That’s what we’re all supposed to do, right, is love our neighbor.”
The West Tennessee Violent Crime and Drug Task Force and We Fight Monsters are pursuing a two-pronged strategy to combat crime while also providing a route to rehabilitation and forgiveness.
