In a sweeping crackdown on crime in the Tenderloin district, San Francisco police have cuffed 54 individuals, seizing a sizable haul of 600 grams of narcotics, Chief Bill Scott confirmed Friday. The one-day sting, part of an ongoing city-wide strategy, targeted a neighborhood long troubled by illicit drug activity and related crimes.
Among those snagged in the dragnet were "dozens of wanted fugitives," with 34 of the arrests pertaining to outstanding warrants, as per a report from the San Francisco Police Department. Eight suspects were nabbed for the possession for sales of illegal narcotics, while others faced charges ranging from possession of controlled substances to possession of stolen property.
"Illegal activity will not be tolerated in and around the Tenderloin. We will be out in force making arrests for as long as it takes," Chief Scott stated in the announcement. The SFPD's intensified efforts particularly target nighttime operations around U.N. Plaza, a known hotbed for such unlawful acts. These operations are set to press on indefinitely.
Involved in Wednesday's bust were officers from the SFPD's Narcotics Unit, Tenderloin Station Patrol/Violence Reduction Team, and other specialized units. The action was bolstered by multiple city partners, including the Department of Parking and Traffic and Healthy Streets Operation Center, with the latter focusing on offering shelter options for those in need.
Alongside the arrests, city agencies engaged in supportive and enforcement activities like issuing parking citations, towing vehicles, and impounding illegal vending carts. These actions extended to the removal of abandoned items and provision of verbal warnings in an effort to clean up the streets. "Our efforts in taking wanted suspects off our streets and to hold individuals accountable for selling illegal narcotics and creating the drug crisis on our streets will make streets safer and save lives," voiced the SFPD, acknowledging the collaborative assistance of the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office in the process.
