DOJ touts hundreds of gun, drug arrests as St Louis surge operation ends: 'Violence is not inevitable'

The Department of Justice touted hundreds of arrests as part of its Operation Show Me Justice in St.

Louis , Missouri, on Thursday.

Beginning in August, the operation included members of the U.S.

Marshals Service, ATF, DEA and the St.

Louis Police Department , all surging their efforts to target guns, drugs and other crimes in the city.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter announced the conclusion of the months-long operation alongside Sen.

Eric Schmitt, R-Mo.

FBI ANNOUNCES 305 ARRESTS, 24 MISSING CHILDREN RECOVERED IN CHICAGO DURING OPERATION NEW DAWN "Through Operation Show Me Justice, the teams have arrested 435 for drug crimes, firearm crimes , other crimes.

That includes 412 outstanding warrant arrests.

Most of these individuals already had outstanding warrants for arrest.

Many of them had multiple," McCotter told reporters at a news conference on Thursday.

The operation also yielded 80 kilos of drugs, 166 illegal firearms , six machine gun conversion devices, and over $1 million in seized currency, McCotter said.

TRUMP ADMIN LAUNCHES 'SUMMER SURGE' OF FEDS TO MAKE DC SAFEST CITY IN AMERICA AHEAD OF 250TH ANNIVERSARY McCotter went on to urge mayors, city councils and state officials across the country to contact federal authorities to carry out similar operations in their jurisdictions.

"The mission here rests on a simple premise, which is we don't have to accept violent crime.