Over the weekend, more than 869 law enforcement officers from around San Diego County worked together during a sting operation to fight illegal gang activity stemming from Mexico.
Operation Allied Shield II involved 17 state and local agencies from around San Diego County.
The operation started at 5:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon.
Using intelligence from several sources, during a press conference on Monday San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said the officers made 307 arrests, had 77 separate narcotics seizures, seized 32 vehicles and weapons, and interviewed 710 gang members.
"We weren't just driving around San Diego County looking for gang members," Gore said. "These were intelligence driven operations focused on gang neighborhoods and known gang members and gang associates."
The main focus was to disrupt and suppress gang activity, Gore said. He said officers also came across other illegal activity as well including, illegal drug possession, probation violations, and DUI's.
In comparison to the first Operation Allied Shield in April, Gore says the improved numbers speak for themselves.
"The results show we are getting better at this," Gore said.
These busts have to have a significant long-term impact on the safety and security of the citizens of San Diego County, that's the focus of these operations, Gore said.
I know in one case we were able to avoid an assault or even a murder, the Sheriff added.
The more pressure we can keep on them the more we can keep the crime in Mexico, Gore said.
Operation Allied Shield was funded by the Stonegarden Program. A grant program that gave local law enforcement agencies $28 million to fund overtime pay and help officers buy sophisticated equipment to combat border crime.
