Volume 9
Champions Edition
The Joint Interagency Task Force South ( JIATF- S ) was created in 1989 to monitor and detect narco-trafficking and to disrupt and dismantle the criminal organizations that profit from the illicit drug trade . The Department of Defense-funded operation , which falls under the military ’ s U . S . Southern Command , has responsibility for 42 million square miles of territory in the Western Hemisphere .
Rear Adm . Christopher Tomney , JIATF-S director
“ This has been a win-win proposition ,” said Rear Adm . Christopher Tomney , JIATF-S director .
“ The FBI vice director provides key insights and experiences that I just don ’ t have as a senior Coast Guard officer . Nowhere in the command group , because we are such a melting pot of organizations , do we have that senior Department of Justice investigatory experience .” The vice director position , he added , will be “ completely woven into the command structure of this organization .”
“ The FBI and the military share the same philosophy on combating transnational criminal networks and organized crime ,” Chianella said . “ To have the FBI fully integrated within the Department of Defense to disturb and dismantle violent networks supports a whole of government approach and takes the fight to them , before it affects us at home .”
By the Numbers
• JIATF-S is composed of every branch of the U . S . military , U . S . federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies such as the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration , and 15 partner nations whose liaison officers work side by side at the task force headquarters in Key West , Florida . Five additional countries are in the process of joining the task force .
• Since its creation , JIATF-S has intercepted hundreds of tons of cocaine worth an estimated street value of $ 6 billion . It is estimated that the task force has been responsible for half of all the cocaine interdicted in the world .
• Within the last three years , nearly 700 non- U . S . persons were indicted and brought to the U . S . to face criminal charges as a result of task force operations . Some 150 criminal networks were identified during that same period , and 60 of those networks were dismantled .
• In 2015 , JIATF-S operations led to the interdiction of seven self-propelled , semi-submersible ( SPSS ) vessels . Designed specifically for smuggling , these craft carry anywhere from eight to 10 metric tons of cocaine with a street value of $ 300 million . The FBI provided intelligence and investigative resources in six of those seven cases .
• For more information about JIATF-S : http :// www . jiatfs . southcom . mil /
Original post https :// www . fbi . gov / news / stories / task-force-works-to-stem-flow-of-illicit-drug-trafficking Images and videos courtesy of the FBI
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