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The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) emphasized its role as a federal partner in the Hurricane Operation this Sunday, a 60-day initiative that resulted in charges against 46 individuals and the seizure of 94 firearms in Palm Beach County, Florida.
The agency published on its official X account that its Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) division in Miami contributed to the operation as part of the Homeland Security Task Force.
The results of the operation were announced on Thursday, July 10, in Broward County, where the special agent in charge of HSI Miami, Jose R. Figueroa, joined representatives from the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and local authorities from Palm Beach County.
According to the DOJ, the operation—led by the Miami Division of the ATF—targeted gun traffickers, drug traffickers, violent criminals, and members of transnational criminal organizations through 123 undercover operations supported by 173 operational plans.
In addition to the 94 weapons, authorities seized over seven kilograms of cocaine, approximately 1.5 kilograms of crack, more than 400 grams of fentanyl, thousands of methamphetamine pills, and quantities of heroin.
The federal prosecutor for the Southern District of Florida, Jason Reding Quiñones, emphasized the magnitude of the fentanyl seizure: "400 grams of fentanyl can kill 200,000 people. That's more people than live in the city of West Palm Beach. That's how dangerous this drug is."
Of the 46 accused—41 at the federal level and five at the state level—26 had multiple previous convictions for serious crimes, many of which were related to violent crimes and drug trafficking. At the time of the announcement, five suspects remained at large.
A key finding of the operation was the resolution of a crime. On May 9, 2026, a man was shot and killed in the 505 15th Street area in West Palm Beach after 16 gunshots were detected by the ShotSpotter system.
During Operation Hurricane, an undercover ATF agent acquired a firearm that was linked, through the NIBIN ballistic database, to the casings found at the crime scene.
That link led to the arrest of Jarvis Williams, 31 years old, who faces second-degree murder charges with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The Deputy Attorney General of the DOJ, Colin McDonald, who presided over the press conference, warned those who operate outside the law in the region: “If you illegally traffic weapons, sell deadly drugs, engage in violence, or prepare to commit it in South Florida, the Homeland Security Task Force and its partners will find you.”
Operation Hurricane is the second of its kind carried out by the ATF Miami Division in South Florida under the Homeland Security Task Force, established by executive order of President Trump.
The first operation, Showdown, took place in 2025 in Miami-Dade and Broward, resulting in 31 arrests and 80 firearms seized. Authorities indicated that the strategy includes continuing to rotate geographically towards the northern counties of Florida.
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