They say they seized more than 2,200 pounds of meth, nearly 900 pounds of cocaine.

Dozens of arrests and hundreds of charges laid in a gun and drug investigation in the GTA.

At 3:49 a.m., while most American cities were still asleep, federal tactical teams moved simultaneously across several states.

They stormed into apartments, garages, and small offices that only hours earlier seemed harmless and secure.

ICE, FBI, HSI, and armed federal teams, seized fentinel, fake prescription pills, heroin, multiple firearms, and over $600,000 in cash in a single, tightly coordinated strike.

This was not a random arrest or routine drug bust.

 

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This was a deliberate assault on a hidden criminal system that had quietly existed in peaceful neighborhoods for years.

The story does not rush to reveal everything at once, but instead unravels the events step by step, showing how drugs were trafficked, money was laundered, and danger was lurking right in front of the public eye.

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Because what was uncovered before dawn may signal a much larger battle still unfolding.

At exactly 3:00 a.m.

, as the cold of the early morning still hung over the quiet streets, ICE agents, FBI operatives, and armed federal teams began moving into position.

The time had come for Operation Metro Surge in the stillness of the night.

The first flash of federal vehicles cut through the darkness.

Each team moving with a purpose, cutting off all avenues of escape before the criminals inside the building even had a chance to react.

 

ICE & FBI Raid Minnesota Cartel — Somali-Born Federal Judge Exposed & $18B  Stolen

 

Their target was a hotel, a seemingly ordinary building, but one that had been transformed into a critical hub for a vast and hidden criminal operation.

It wasn’t a random location.

The intelligence had been building for months, every detail meticulously compiled.

The agents knew exactly what was inside.

fake passports, stolen funds, and a network so deeply embedded within the system that it had taken years to uncover.

The hotel’s lobby, usually a place of transient visitors, was now the focal point of a sweeping federal operation.

The agents moved with precision, their footsteps echoing through the hotel’s silent hallways.

There was no chaos, no sirens, just the sound of heavy boots on carpet as federal agents breached doors and sealed off exits.

Each team knew their role.

From the moment they cut the power to the elevators to the second they stormed into the stairwells, they had to act fast before the criminals inside had time to destroy the evidence or flee.

Within seconds, the hotel was locked down.

 

Tip of a very large iceberg,' Feds surge response to Minnesota fraud  investigations

 

Agents flooded every floor, systematically moving through the building, securing each room.

There was no hesitation, no uncertainty.

This was not just a raid.

It was a strategic dismantling of a criminal empire.

As the teams moved into position, the first discoveries were made.

The hotel rooms that seemed innocuous at first were filled with illegal contraband.

Heavy duffel bags stuffed with cash.

More than $600,000 in bundled bills were pulled from under beds and behind furniture.

But the money wasn’t the most shocking discovery.

That honor went to the fake US passports hidden in plain sight.

Hundreds of freshly printed passports with clean false identities were stacked neatly in various rooms.

The criminal operation running out of this hotel wasn’t just about drug trafficking.

It was about creating identities, selling them, and using those identities to scam millions of dollars from the US government.

The agents worked quickly seizing evidence from the rooms.

 

How ICE raids in Minnesota connect to a years-old fraud scandal

 

But what they uncovered in room 712 would turn the investigation on its head.

This room, once thought to be just another part of the operation became the center of the raid’s most significant discovery.

Inside, the team found a chaotic but purposeful scene.

Documents were being shredded in a lastditch attempt to destroy evidence, but they weren’t fast enough.

The agents moved swiftly, grabbing everything they could before the criminals had a chance to cover their tracks.

What was left behind was startling.

A laptop carefully tucked away in a drawer would reveal the full scope of the operation.

As the device powered on, the agents were confronted with a treasure trove of encrypted files.

They began to sift through the data, realizing that the operation they were targeting wasn’t just a smalltime racket.

It was a multi-billion dollar fraud scheme, one that had been operating under the radar for years.

The fraud had gone unnoticed for so long because it was hidden behind the layers of bureaucracy designed to protect people.

The files exposed an elaborate network of fake identities used to steal millions through Medicaid and other federal food programs.

The scale was staggering.

$18 billion had been stolen.

 

How ICE raids in Minnesota connect to a years-old fraud scandal

 

The money, which should have been used to help those in need, had been siphoned into the pockets of criminals who had learned to exploit the system for their own gain.

The most shocking part of the discovery was the involvement of high-level individuals within the justice system.

As agents continued to investigate, they linked the operation to a sitting federal judge and a prominent immigration lawyer.

These were not just criminals working outside the law.

They were insiders, people with the power to manipulate the system for their benefit.

The judge had been protecting this operation, using his position to shield the criminals from scrutiny.

The lawyer had been the fixer, ensuring that the illegal activities went unchallenged, even when the law was supposed to stop them.

But the corruption didn’t stop there.

As agents dug deeper, they realized that this operation was even more sinister than they had initially thought.

 

Ef-Bi-Aj protiv albanske mafije | Svet | RTS

 

The money being stolen wasn’t just lining the pockets of corrupt officials.

It was fueling a much larger criminal enterprise.

The criminal network was deeply intertwined with drug cartels operating in Mexico and Colombia.

The money that was being funneled through this fraudulent scheme was being used to finance human trafficking operations.

The same fake identities being used for the Medicaid fraud were being sold to undocumented immigrants who were brought into the US under the guise of legitimate entry.

The operation was a perfectly integrated system of crime.

Drugs, money laundering, and human trafficking all operated together seamlessly, each part feeding into the other.

The hotel, once seen as just a place to house criminals, was revealed to be the hub of a far-reaching network that had been growing quietly, unnoticed by the general public.

It was an operation that once exposed had the potential to unravel the foundations of the very systems that were designed to protect the American people.

As the agents continued to secure the building, the atmosphere outside began to change.

News of the raid spread quickly and residents began to gather around the hotel.

At first, it was just a few curious bystanders, but as the minutes passed, the crowd grew.

By the time federal agents had collected most of the evidence inside, the streets outside the hotel were swarming with people.

The public, still unaware of the full scale of the operation, began to question the raid.

Activists and residents alike rallied outside the hotel, chanting that the raid was illegal, that it was unjust.

The situation was volatile, and the tension in the air was palpable.

Inside, however, the agents remained focused.

The laptop’s contents continued to reveal the dark web of corruption.

Still, they couldn’t lose sight of the larger goal.

Dismantling the operation, arresting those responsible, and uncovering every last piece of evidence.

As agents filed out of the hotel, dragging boxes full of seized materials, the weight of the operation’s impact began to sink in.

This wasn’t just a raid.

It was a critical strike against a criminal system that had been allowed to operate in plain sight for far too long.

What do you think about the scale of Operation Metro Surge? Was this enough to uncover the full extent of the operation or do you believe there is more beneath the surface? Share your thoughts in the comments.

The criminal network law enforcement was targeting was not just a simple drug operation or a money laundering ring.

This was a far more dangerous and integrated system that linked international drug cartels with human trafficking and fraud operations built on a structure of stolen identities and manipulated government programs.

These criminals weren’t operating in isolation.

They had created a sophisticated web that spanned across borders, exploiting vulnerable people and siphoning billions of dollars from the government.

The network was a terrifying combination of drug trafficking, moneyaundering, and human exploitation.

And it was hiding in plain sight.

The drugs at the center of this criminal operation came from Mexico and Colombia, and they flooded into the United States with terrifying efficiency.

Heroin, fentinyl, methamphetamine.

Each drug is more potent than the last.

The cartels had perfected the process, making sure their product reached every corner of the country, from the streets of major cities to the smallest rural towns.

But the drugs were only part of the story.

The money that came from the sale of these drugs was funneled into a system designed to clean the dirty cash.

The cartels had long been involved in money laundering, but the scale and precision of this operation were unprecedented.

But what made this operation particularly chilling was its connection to human trafficking.

The criminals didn’t just use the drug money for themselves.

They used it to fund the creation of fake identities for undocumented immigrants, giving them false lives and legal status in the United States.

These false identities were used to exploit government programs, most notably Medicaid, draining billions of dollars from federal funds meant to help those in need.

This was no random operation.

It was a deeply integrated criminal enterprise that used every piece of the system to its advantage.

The fake identities were key to the operation.

They weren’t just used to claim health care benefits, but also to manipulate other systems.

Immigrants who were given these false identities were used as pawns in a much larger game.

They worked under these fake names, allowing the criminals to collect money for services that were never rendered.

The human trafficking side of this operation was just as insidious.

As vulnerable individuals were given new lives under these false identities, sold to the highest bidder and used for labor or other illegal purposes.

The criminal operation was highly integrated with different parts of the system supporting each other.

The money from the drug trade was used to create and sell fake identities while the proceeds from the fraudulent claims funded further trafficking and drug smuggling.

It was a closed loop where each piece of the system relied on the others to function.

The more fake identities created, the more money was made.

The more money made, the more people were trafficked.

And the more people traffked, the greater the demand for false identities.

As the investigation unfolded, the scope of this criminal network became clearer.

It wasn’t just about drugs or money.

It was about a system that allowed criminals to exploit every vulnerability.

The network had managed to infiltrate not only the underground world of illegal activities, but also the very institutions meant to prevent them.

Law enforcement was up against more than just a group of criminals.

They were facing a welloiled machine that had been running for years, operating in plain sight without raising alarms.

The federal agents weren’t just dealing with a network of small-time criminals.

They were targeting an international operation that spanned several countries.

The raid on the hotel in Minneapolis was just the beginning.

As agents continued to uncover evidence, the full scale of the criminal activity became more apparent.

They discovered warehouses, fake businesses, and hidden caches of drugs and money all across the country.

What they found wasn’t just an isolated group of criminals.

It was a farreaching operation with tentacles that stretched across state lines and international borders.

The scope of the operation quickly expanded.

What had started as a local investigation grew into a national search.

Agents raided properties in multiple states from Iowa to Michigan, uncovering evidence of more money laundering, more human trafficking, and more drugs.

In Chicago, the team stormed a heavily fortified warehouse used by the criminals to distribute methamphetamine.

Armed guards fired at the federal agents from behind barricades, setting off a violent firefight that lasted for nearly 30 minutes.

SWAT teams well-trained for these types of confrontations moved quickly and decisively, clearing the building and arresting those inside.

It was a dangerous, high-risk operation, but the agents knew they had no choice but to push forward.

The network had grown too large to ignore.

In rural Iowa, agents uncovered a stash of uncut cocaine stored in a farmhouse that had been converted into a storage facility for drugs.

As they entered the building, they found shelves lined with neatly packaged drugs ready to be moved to different parts of the country.

The sheer volume of drugs in this one location was staggering, but it was just one small piece of the larger puzzle.

In Missouri, agents raided homes connected to human trafficking rings, freeing dozens of individuals who had been exploited under false identities.

Each discovery seemed to lead to another, a chain of evidence that was pulling law enforcement deeper into the heart of the criminal operation.

In Detroit, agents made another shocking discovery.

A shipping container intended to hold auto parts was instead packed with bundles of cash, $40 million in bills wrapped tightly in plastic.

The money was being prepared for shipment to another location, part of the ongoing money laundering scheme.

The discovery of the cash was another piece of the puzzle, linking the drug operation to the broader network of corruption and fraud.

As agents continued to secure the properties, they encountered more resistance and the tension in the air grew.

The criminals weren’t going to go down quietly.

In several locations, cartel members and traffickers fought back violently, using firearms to try to stop the agents from seizing their assets.

It was clear that this was not just about making arrests.

It was about dismantling a complex criminal network that had been in operation for years.

But the law enforcement teams remained determined and continued their coordinated strikes across the country, slowly chipping away at the network and uncovering deeper layers of corruption.

As the raid spread across multiple states, the operation’s significance became even more apparent.

This was not just a series of random arrests.

It was a carefully coordinated attack on an international criminal system, one that had been hiding in plain sight for years.

The operation was revealing a network so extensive, so integrated that it was almost impossible to imagine how it had remained undetected for so long.

With each arrest and each discovery, law enforcement was taking down a piece of a much larger puzzle.

As agents continued to unravel the complex web of crime, it became clear that the real fight wasn’t just against the criminals who were being arrested.

It was against the systemic corruption that had allowed them to thrive for so long.

The following steps in this investigation would be critical in taking down the influential figures at the top of the network.

The immediate effects of the raids were startling, but what followed in the days and weeks after was even more revealing.

The operation’s impact wasn’t confined to taking down drug traffickers and human traffickers.

It had also unearthed something far more dangerous.

Corruption within law enforcement itself.

As agents sifted through the mountain of evidence, they discovered a hidden truth that sent shock waves through the entire operation.

Some of the very officers who were supposed to be protecting the public had instead been disregarding the criminal activities unfolding around them.

Among the arrests made during the operation, several were local police officers who had been complicit in criminal activities, accepting bribes to ignore suspicious activity or even providing inside information to criminals they were supposed to be targeting.

These officers were supposed to uphold the law, yet they aided and abetted the criminal network in exchange for money.

This revelation sent a ripple of disbelief through both law enforcement and the public.

The realization that corruption had infiltrated the very institutions meant to stop crime was a painful blow.

The corruption ran deep, and those involved had operated with impunity for years, protected by their own authority.

The arrest of these officers was just the tip of the iceberg.

Investigators soon uncovered evidence that other officials, including local government members, had been protecting criminals operating under their noses.

The systemic nature of this corruption was staggering.

It wasn’t just a few bad apples.

It was a network of criminals within the system working hand in hand to ensure the illegal operations continued without interference.

As more officers were arrested and investigated, it became clear that the fight against this criminal network wasn’t just about taking down drug dealers or traffickers.

It was also about cleaning up a corrupted system that had allowed these criminals to thrive.

But while the corruption was a difficult pill to swallow, the raids themselves had one immediate and undeniable effect.

They started making a tangible difference on the streets.

In the weeks following the raids, the statistics were clear.

Overdose deaths in the Twin Cities dropped by an astonishing 40%.

A direct result of taking down the drug trafficking routes and dismantling the network that had been flooding the streets with lethal drugs like fentinel.

It was a rare but welcome piece of good news in a city that had been devastated by the opioid crisis.

The streets, once filled with danger and death, began to show signs of recovery.

The decrease in overdose deaths was a sign of hope for families who had lost loved ones to the epidemic.

And it was a victory for law enforcement who had worked tirelessly to shut down the network.

Alongside the drop in overdose deaths, crime rates also saw a significant decrease.

The neighborhoods that had once been under the thumb of criminal organizations now felt safer.

Robberies, assaults, and shootings dropped as the drug networks were dismantled and their influence over the streets faded.

For many, the raids had been a long overdue wakeup call.

It was a signal that the government was finally taking action against the powerful criminal syndicates that had controlled so much of the city.

The ripple effect was felt not just in the Twin Cities, but also in surrounding regions where criminals had operated with near impunity.

However, while the raids had produced immediate results, they also highlighted a more troubling reality.

The criminal system that had been exposed was not easily eradicated.

The criminals operating within it were resourceful, and the corrupt system had deep roots.

The network wasn’t just going to vanish with a few high-profile arrests.

It was clear that the fight against this criminal empire would continue.

The system of protection that had allowed it to grow and thrive had not been fully dismantled.

And as long as that system remained in place, the criminals would find new ways to adapt.

The corrupt figures within the system had already begun to regroup.

The arrest of police officers and local officials had sent shock waves through the criminal network, but it also left gaps that the criminals could exploit.

While the investigation had made significant strides, it was clear that much more needed to be done to root out the corruption and stop the cycle of crime.

The federal agencies had made great strides in dismantling the drug and trafficking networks, but the systemic nature of the corruption meant that the problem was far from solved.

In many ways, it had only just begun.

This raid did more than just break up a criminal operation.

It exposed a vast and intricate network, one involving judges, lawyers, and international crime syndicates.

The discoveries made throughout the investigation revealed the chilling integration of organized crime, money laundering, and fraud.

This is a stark warning about the hidden threats lurking within society.

The involvement of a sitting federal judge and a prominent immigration lawyer in protecting this criminal system underscores the danger of corruption and the infiltration of crime into law enforcement and legal institutions.

These revelations have not only shocked the community but also served as a wake-up call about the sophisticated criminal organizations that operate under the radar.

The system they built is far from random.

It’s deliberate, calculated, and protected by influential individuals who have operated unchecked for years.

This is a grim reminder of the vulnerabilities in our society where the very systems designed to protect us can sometimes harbor the most dangerous criminals.

What we have seen is just the surface beneath it.

There are likely more such systems in place waiting to be uncovered.

The final message from this operation is that the battle against these robust criminal networks is far from over.

What’s been uncovered is only the tip of the iceberg, and these criminals are already regrouping, finding new ways to adapt and rebuild.

The question now is, what will it take to stop them? How do we prevent these networks from reemerging and continue to exploit the very systems we trust? This operation, while successful in dismantling a significant part of the criminal network, also raises larger questions about the continued fight against organized crime and corruption, law enforcement efforts will need to be relentless and coordinated as criminals will stop at nothing to regain their power.

The ultimate challenge lies in ensuring that the systems put in place to combat these criminals remain intact and constantly evolving.

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