Homeland Security announces first-of-its-kind task force aimed at fighting transnational organized crime

Federal authorities have launched a first-of-its-kind task force in New York aimed at tackling transnational organized crime.

Homeland Security Investigations New York Special Agent in charge Ricky Patel announced the formation of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) New York on Wednesday at a news conference alongside leaders from several law enforcement agencies.

“This task force is the first of its kind. Using a whole-of-government approach, through a unified framework, the HSTFs serve as a model for protecting the homeland from evolving threats presented by transnational organized crime,” Patel said. “The mission of the HSTF is to identify and target for prosecution transnational criminal organizations engaged in diverse criminal schemes involving a myriad of federal violations, both within the United States and throughout the world.”

Patel said that the crimes included homicide, human trafficking, money laundering, kidnapping, extortion, drug trafficking and weapons trafficking.

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U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said at the news conference that while crime in New York has dropped overall, it remains “way above where it should be,” especially in vulnerable communities. He credited law enforcement personnel for the lowered crime rate. The U.S. attorney went on to detail law enforcement agencies’ achievements over the last year. This included investigations and charges related to “murders, shootings, stabbings, sex trafficking and narcotics distribution by Tren de Aragua and many other brutally violent gangs.” Clayton also said that over a dozen narco-terrorists and members of state-sponsored drug cartels had been charged.

The U.S. attorney highlighted a recent narcotics sweep in and around New York City’s Washington Square Park, which led to the arrest of 18 defendants. Clayton said the operation in Washington Square Park “exemplifies what we can do with a whole-of-law-enforcement approach to public safety.”

FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge Christopher Raia said the HSTF New York was formed to combat growing threats posed by transnational criminal enterprises and foreign terrorist organizations.

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“With the new authorities and investigative tools granted to us after the designation of the most violent drug cartels and transnational gangs as foreign terrorist organizations, we will systematically and methodically dismantle these enterprises,” Raia said at Wednesday’s news conference.

Raia added that HSTF New York’s work was “already paying massive dividends” and cited high-profile cases that involved the task force’s staff.

“In August 2025, our office coordinated with the Southern District in New York to charge and arrest seven leaders and members of a violent Mexico-based drug trafficking organization for the alleged trafficking of firearms and smuggling dozens of kilograms of cocaine, meth and fentanyl into this country. Their alleged criminality plagued our communities, even jeopardizing innocent bystanders with public rivalry shootings,” Raia said.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York issued a statement on the formation of the task force, saying the new unit’s primary focus would be investigating transnational criminal organizations designated as foreign terrorist organizations. Additionally, the U.S. Attorney’s Office underscored the task force’s unique approach in allowing “state, local, and federal law enforcement to extend our reach, share intelligence in real time, and target these threats at every level.”

So far, HSTFs nationwide have resulted in the arrests of more than 3,200 foreign terrorists, narcotraffickers and gang members, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.