\n The Eldon B. Mahon U.S. Courthouse in Fort Worth. | Image via Carol M. Highsmith\/Library of Congress <\/p>\n
Federal prosecutors filed 23 new cases in Fort Worth in less than two weeks under a 90-day crackdown targeting narcotics traffickers, violent offenders and dangerous illegal aliens, the Justice Department announced<\/a> Saturday, September 5.<\/p>\n Operation New Day formally began August 24. Since then, the Fort Worth Division has seized<\/a> more than 20 kilograms of methamphetamine, along with distribution quantities of crack cocaine and powder cocaine, DOJ said.<\/p>\n New charges include possession of a machine gun, escape from detention, narcotics distribution and illegal reentry into the United States, according to the release<\/a>. No defendants, case numbers or category-by-category totals appeared in the announcement.<\/p>\n \u201cNorth Texas will not serve as a refuge for individuals who persist in violating federal law,\u201d U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said in the release.<\/p>\n A separate immigration tally<\/p>\n Federal prosecutors have charged 184 defendants with illegal reentry after removal across the Northern District of Texas since June 1, according to a separate August 27 release<\/a>. That districtwide figure is not the Operation New Day total.<\/p>\n Prior convictions among that broader group included aggravated sexual assault of a child, indecency with a child, a fatal hit-and-run, aggravated robbery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and assault on a public servant, DOJ said. DOJ has not said whether any of those 184 cases also fall under Operation New Day.<\/p>\n A previous Fort Worth crackdown<\/p>\n Another Fort Worth initiative, Operation Showdown, resulted in 76 arrests, as previously reported<\/a> by The Dallas Express.<\/p>\n