FBI Operation Summer Heat Nets 8,629 Arrests

Operation Summer Heat, a nationwide FBI initiative that ran June 24–Sept. 20, produced about 8,629 arrests, identified or located 1,053 child victims, and seized roughly 44,500 kilograms of cocaine, 421 kilograms of fentanyl and 2,281 weapons. The FBI’s Boston Division ranked third among field offices with 404 arrests across Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, and reported 129 drug seizures, recovery of 38 weapons and the identification or location of 27 children. In Western Massachusetts the Western Massachusetts Gang Force targeted neighborhood gangs and open‑air drug markets in Holyoke, making 52 arrests, while multiagency operations in Revere and Worcester resulted in arrests and an estimated 73 kilograms of cocaine seized. The operation involved coordinated work with state and local partners including the DEA, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Massachusetts State Police, and also addressed violent crime in Indian Country. FBI leaders described the effort as “record‑setting” and emphasized an ongoing commitment to dismantling gangs, rescuing child victims and prosecuting violent criminals.