Wichita, federal law enforcement make arrests, seize drugs during Operation Triple Beam

Michael Stavola
·3 min read
13

Local and federal law enforcement on Friday announced the results of a targeted operation aimed at reducing violent crime that took place this summer.

It’s the third time “Operation Triple Beam” has been conducted in Wichita. It was also done in 2019 and 2021, with both of those initiatives seeing much higher amounts of arrests and drugs taken off the streets.

However, those operations were longer and didn’t have the same focus as this one, according to Ronald Miller, U.S. marshal for the District of Kansas.

“This was an arrest operation for people who have warrants for their arrest, felony warrants for their arrest, who have a nexus for violent crime,” he said during a news conference at City Hall. “The reason you don’t see guns and money and drugs spread out on the table, Chief (Joseph) Sullivan said it right, this is a strategic operation designed for impact. That impact is to reduce the crime rate, the violent crime rate, in Wichita.”

During a news conference after Operation Triple Beam in 2021, law enforcement laid out the hundreds of seized guns on a table. That 60-day operation yielded more than 1,000 arrests, more than 200 illegal guns seized and around $3 million worth of drugs taken off the streets.

Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter said the violent crime in Wichita dropped after both of the previous operations.

“I’m thinking that is what the chief is hoping for on this as well,” Easter said, adding since Sullivan took over in November he has “been a great partner since arriving here in Wichita, and I can’t say that enough.”

He added: “This is not the ‘90s type stuff where we would go in and do sweeps in whole neighborhoods. This is very strategic and it is something that the community has asked for and law enforcement has responded.”

The operations took place in two, 10-day operations, from June 15 to 24 and July 17 to 26. They resulted in:

  • 145 fugitive arrests with 149 warrants cleared

  • 19 firearms seized (14 handguns, four rifles and one shotgun)

  • Seven suppressors seized and four Glock switches, which convert semi-automatic handguns to fully automatic ones

  • $413 seized

  • Just over 10 pounds of methamphetamine; 22.7 grams cocaine, 65 grams of marijuana and 73,295 fentanyl pills

“Assistance from the community proved essential throughout this operation . . . while officers and other agents were out looking for individuals with warrants, cooperation from community members providing information or anonymous tips that were received,” Lt. Aaron Moses said.

Sullivan, Kansas Bureau of Investigation director Tony Mattivi and Kate Brubacher, U.S. attorney for the District of Kansas, all spoke during the news conference as well.

“Effective law enforcement happens by collaboration,” Brubacher said. “Operation Triple Beam and the group assembled here today and indicative of that.”

The operation involved several other law enforcement agencies as well, including the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Kansas Highway Patrol, which provided aerial assistance.