Undercover narcotics agents arrest a drug dealer who was allegedly selling fentanyl on 7th and Mission Streets in 2023. Authorities arrested roughly 89 people in San Francisco during an eight-month federal drug enforcement surge that started in October 2025.
Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle
Authorities arrested roughly 89 people in San Francisco during an eight-month federal drug enforcement surge, prosecutors announced on Friday.
Between early October and late May, federal and local law enforcement in the city seized more than 2.2 kilograms of fentanyl, over 840 grams of methamphetamine and roughly $38,000 in drug proceeds, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California said.
“There are some problems that cannot be solved alone and this was one of them,” U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian said. “San Francisco’s open-air drug markets were rending the fabric of the city, but working together with our federal, state, and local partners we have made significant progress cleaning up the streets of our great city and we will continue this important work.”
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Missakian said prosecutors hoped their efforts would show visitors who came to the Bay Area for the Super Bowl and ahead of the World Cup “that our city and region are stronger and safer than ever.”
Prosecutors also brought federal drug trafficking charges against more than 40 defendants in San Francisco during the same window, according to Friday’s announcement, with many cases involving “large quantities of drugs.”
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Prosecutors gave the example of 50-year-old Martha Alvarado Rodriguez and 35-year-old Solis Soto Alvardo, who allegedly were found with 73.9 grams of fentanyl, 33.5 grams of methamphetamine and 16.2 grams of cocaine base in their car. The Oakland residents, who also allegedly sold fentanyl to undercover officers in the Tenderloin, were sentenced to three years in federal prison in April.
In another case, 40-year-old Andy Cruz of Oakland was sentenced to 96 months in federal prison after prosecutors said he had been selling drugs in the Tenderloin and elsewhere for nearly two decades. A search of his home uncovered 76 grams of heroin, 25 grams of meth and almost a kilogram of fentanyl, authorities said.
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“These results demonstrate what we can accomplish when we combine our authorities, intelligence, and resources toward a shared mission,” FBI Special
Agent in Charge Scott Schlelbe said. “Every arrest and every seizure represents a meaningful step toward improving the safety and well being of the people of San Francisco.”
Last year, federal drug cases filed in San Francisco dropped by a monthly average of more than 50% after President Donald Trump’s administration scaled back a Biden-era operation dubbed “All Hands on Deck.”
The dialing down of the operation — which enforced stiffer penalties on low-level drug dealers — came as the Trump administration diverted thousands of federal agents from enforcement responsibilities to civil immigration roundups.
Prosecutors said Friday that the past year’s efforts “expand upon” the Biden-era operation, which has resulted in more than 200 federal drug prosecutions since its inception.
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The federal drug crackdown has been matched by a similar effort on the local level: last month, the San Francisco Police Department announced 62 arrests made during a one-day sweep in the Tenderloin, Mission and Southern districts.
Mayor Daniel Lurie made reducing public drug use a central campaign promise when he was elected in 2024. During his first year in office, arrests for misdemeanor drug offenses, especially possession of drug paraphernalia, have soared. Meanwhile, arrests for suspected drug sales — cases which typically demand more time and investigative work — have mostly remained flat in the past year.