By Naveen Athrappully
Contributing Writer
FBI officials and partners have carried out what they call a “violent gang takedown” in Columbus, Georgia, as part of Operation Sweet Silence, which has resulted in the seizure of more than $20 million worth of meth, marijuana, cocaine and fentanyl, according to the agency.
Around 119 firearms have been removed from the streets, with the gang members getting convicted, according to a Monday post on X by FBI Atlanta. “The streets of Columbus are safer today!” the agency said.
Operation Sweet Silence was carried out by federal and local law enforcement between August 2022 and May 2024 in and around Columbus, investigating the illegal activities of the Zohannon criminal street gang, which engaged in armed drug trafficking, according to an April 16 statement from the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Among the 30 defendants arrested as part of the operation, all of them have either been convicted at trial or pleaded guilty to drug charges.
The latest conviction was of Fernando Brown, 33, of Columbus. During the operation, law enforcement agents discovered that Brown looked to dominate the illegal drug market in Columbus by acting as a supplier.
“Trial evidence revealed that Brown was captured on a wiretap discussing the distribution of methamphetamine, marijuana and cocaine,” DEA said. “During the execution of search warrants at Brown’s drug trap house on 10th Street and his residence on Rosewood Street, both in Columbus, law enforcement seized methamphetamine, marijuana, cocaine and seven firearms.”
Brown was convicted by a federal jury on Thursday, with the sentencing set for July 22.
The case is also part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative pooling resources of the Department of Justice to counter the influx of illegal immigrants, ensure the elimination of transnational criminal organizations and cartels, and protect American communities from violent criminals.
“Criminal street gangs were responsible for a wave of violent crime in and around Columbus,” said Richard Bilson, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office.
“Columbus is a safer place now that the FBI and our partners have effectively dismantled this armed drug trafficking organization. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to work together to keep our streets safe.”
Earlier, in a Feb. 10 statement, the DOJ announced that 10 defendants in the case were sentenced to a combined 108 years in prison, with the longest sentence being 25 years.
Maritime Drug Trade
During President Donald Trump’s first year in office of his second term, the U.S. Coast Guard seized almost 470,000 pounds of cocaine, amounting to 177 million lethal doses, according to a Jan. 20 statement from the Department of Homeland Security.
About 80% of interdictions of U.S.-bound drug cargos occur at sea, making maritime interceptions a vital component of countering the influx of these substances into the country, according to DHS.
The Trump administration has conducted military strikes against suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific Ocean as part of Operation Southern Spear. As of March 10, 47 drug boats had been destroyed, with 157 individuals with ties to narco-terrorist organizations being killed.
Human Rights Watch criticized the strike operations in a March 31 statement.
The strikes “aren’t one-off incidents, they’re part of a pattern of using military force where the law does not permit it, over and over again,” said Sarah Yager, the group’s Washington director.
The organization said the U.S. government must “immediately end this campaign of lethal strikes.”
In December 2025, Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson told reporters that the legality of such strikes had been vetted by proper authorities.
“Our operations in the Southcom region are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the Law of Armed Conflict. These actions have also been approved by the best military and civilian lawyers up and down the chain of command,” Wilson said.
