Attorney General Chris Carr today announced the launch of Operation "Hold the Line,” a multi-agency effort targeting transnational gangs engaged in human trafficking, organized retail crime, weapons smuggling, and fentanyl and drug trafficking in Georgia. Along with Carr’s Gang Prosecution Unit, his Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, and his Organized Retail Crime Unit, participants will include local, state and federal law enforcement partners.

“My message to these gangs is clear: Georgia is not, and will never be, a safe haven for violent criminals,” said Carr. “We will track you down, prosecute you, and dismantle your operations.”

Violent gangs such as Tren de Aragua, a criminal organization that originated in a Venezuelan prison, have spread their operations across at least 16 states, including Georgia. This gang’s activities, ranging from human trafficking to drug distribution, are leaving devastation in their wake. Both brothers of Jose Ibarra, the Venezuelan migrant who murdered Laken Riley, have been linked to Tren de Aragua.

These criminal networks are also fueling a drug crisis that’s devastating our state and nation. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin, is pouring across our borders and destroying lives at an alarming rate. In 2023 alone, more than 107,000 people in the U.S. died of a drug overdose, and fentanyl was involved in nearly 70 percent of those deaths. President Donald Trump’s Homeland Security Investigations recently arrested two illegal migrants who were running a drug operation in Maryland and Georgia.

Operation “Hold the Line” is one of several steps Carr has taken to combat the effects of illegal immigration in Georgia. He previously filed suit against the Biden administration to stop the implementation of “catch and release,” to keep “Remain in Mexico” and Title 42 in place, and to ensure violent offenders who enter the country illegally are deported. In 2023, Carr’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit convicted three illegal migrants for the trafficking of a child in Cherokee and Fulton counties. Just last year, Carr’s Gang Prosecution Unit worked with law enforcement in Richmond County to seize 15 pounds of fentanyl – enough to kill 3.5 million Georgians or nearly a third of the state’s population – and he continues to lead a statewide Task Force to address the opioid epidemic.