The arrests “are the result of Operation Guard Shack, the largest police corruption investigation in the history of the FBI,” the statement read.
“Close to 750 FBI agents were flown in to Puerto Rico from across the country to assist in the arrests” early Wednesday.
A total of 129 people including 60 Puerto Rican police officers, 16 municipal police, 12 prison officials, three Puerto Rico National Guard soldiers, and two US army officers, have been arrested.
*****
Now this is impressive and bravo to the FBI for pulling it off. And from the looks of it, this thing looks like a Grenada style island invasion with FBI agents flown in from across the country for this operation!
On the down side, I had no idea that things were this bad in Puerto Rico? They also nabbed some military folks in this sweep, to include two Army officers.
I would also guess that they had some serious undercover operations going on all over the island? Which would not be too difficult if you were able to insert a few agents in some key departments. Plus the whole Serpico Effect might have been in play as well. Guys who see what is going on around them, and ‘have the courage to do what is right’ and turn in these crooked cops. With that said, I am sure a book or published studies about this operation will come out in the near future. –Matt
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133 charged in FBI anti-graft sweep in Puerto Rico
October 6, 2010
WASHINGTON — US officials Wednesday unveiled the FBI’s largest ever police corruption sweep saying 133 police, prison guards and army officers have been charged in a huge anti-graft crackdown in Puerto Rico.
The suspects face charges relating to posessing and distributing cocaine, and using firearms during a drug trafficking offense, the US Department of Justice said in a statement.
The arrests “are the result of Operation Guard Shack, the largest police corruption investigation in the history of the FBI,” the statement read.
“Close to 750 FBI agents were flown in to Puerto Rico from across the country to assist in the arrests” early Wednesday.
A total of 129 people including 60 Puerto Rican police officers, 16 municipal police, 12 prison officials, three Puerto Rico National Guard soldiers, and two US army officers, have been arrested.
Four others remain at large.
The indictments result from 125 undercover drug stings conducted by FBI agents in Puerto Rico between July 2008 and September 2010.
The defendants’ participation “consisted of providing armed protection to a drug dealer during the sale of multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine.”
If convicted the defendants face sentences “ranging from 10 years, up to life in prison,” the DOJ statement read.
“The Justice Department?s commitment to rooting out and eradicating alleged corruption in our law enforcement ranks has never been stronger,” said US Attorney General Eric Holder.
Puerto Rico is a Spanish-speaking Caribbean archipelago and US territory, which lies east of the Dominican Republic.
Story here.
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OPERATION GUARD SHACK
Historic Takedown in Puerto Rico
10/06/10
Early this morning the FBI launched a massive public corruption takedown in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as our agents fanned out across the island to begin arresting 133 subjects—the majority of them police officers.
In what is likely the largest police corruption case in the FBI’s history, nearly 1,000 Bureau personnel from 50 of our 56 field offices were in San Juan for the takedown.