TOLEDO, OH (Toledo News Now) - Officers from Toledo Police and federal law enforcement agencies swept through Toledo businesses serving search warrants and looking for known gang members.
The sweep is part of an initiative known as T-CIRV, which aims to end gang violence. Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Drug Enforcement Agency and the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and officers with the Ohio State Highway Patrol and Toledo Police participated in the sweep.
Officers and agents served 14 search warrants using police a k-9, a helicopter and SWAT teams.
"We have warned just not this group, but the rest of the gangs 'hey, you better stop it, you better not be bringing out the guns, you better not be doing any of these shootings into houses, robberies, or shooting other people in gangs or you're going to pay the price.' This particular group did not heed the warning and they're paying the price today," said Toledo Police Sgt. Joe Heffernan.
Heffernan says the initiative may continue through the summer in an effort to end gang violence in the city.
"We're going to be out here just not today, but continually until we impress upon the gang members in Toledo, especially in this area right here, that gun violence is unacceptable in Toledo and if you're going to participate in it, if you're to go around indiscriminately, just not you but your whole group, your whole gang, is going to pay the consequences," said Heffernan.
Police say the initiative focuses on the "BUMA" area of Toledo. BUMA stands for Bancroft, Upton, Monroe and Auburn.
