MPD announces 36 firearms seized, 22 arrests in latest ‘street-level’ operation

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - The Montgomery Police Department held a media briefing Thursday to announce the results of a 30-day operation that just wrapped up.

“Operation 2020″ ran from mid-December through mid-January. Police Chief Darryl Albert said the results were 36 firearm confiscations, 22 arrests, 34 felony charges and four misdemeanor charges, plus additional pending charges.

“This 30-day crossover operation crossed over from 2022 into 2023, focused on contributing factors to what brings violence to out community, mostly guns and dope. Two main concerns for law enforcement,” Albert said.

Deputy Chief John Hall, who leads the criminal investigation division, talked about the drugs seized during those 30 days. He said they confiscated marijuana, fentanyl, methamphetamine, crack cocaine, powder cocaine, mushrooms. He made a special note about the fentanyl, calling it “one of the driving crimes behind all this.”

“It continues to be a focus for the Montgomery Police Department,” he said.

Hall said they also seized more than $58,000.

“Just showing why some of these individuals are continuing in these violent crimes and the kind of money that they’re having,” Hall said of the seized cash.

The commander of MPD’s special operations, Capt. George Russell, also spoke. He said all of the seized firearms were run through the system to see if they are connected to other crimes. He said this has resulted in some links to ongoing investigations.

Russell noted that many of the weapon seizures came from search warrants and traffic stops.

Albert said Thursday’s briefing was to continue transparency with the public, saying, “As you may recall, I promised to keep the public informed on what MPD is doing in their community as a whole, and especially with these types of street-level operations.”

“MPD will continually and be aggressive on our enforcement while remaining professional, courteous and constitutional in our efforts,” he said. “The people of Montgomery deserve nothing but the best and a safe city, and we’re focused on ensuring just that.”

“Operation 2020″ was a collaborative effort between multiple divisions within MPD, including the intelligence unit, Star Center, narcotics unit, gang unit, SWAT, patrol divisions, criminal investigations, CrimeStoppers and Secret Witness.

Albert said more operations like this will be conducted, with another currently in the works.

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