Federal, local agencies seize drugs, 23 guns in Operation Sign Off

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KQTV) -- Federal and local authorities said Friday that a weeklong crackdown on people wanted for serious crimes in the Kansas City and St. Joseph areas resulted in dozens of warrants being resolved and led to new federal cases.

The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday announced the results of Operation Sign Off, a multi-agency effort aimed at locating and arresting people wanted for violent offenses, advancing investigations and building cases for prosecution. Officials said authorities cleared 75 warrants involving 21 defendants.

During the operation, authorities also reported seizing:

• 1,009 grams of fentanyl
• 798 grams of methamphetamine
• 2.5 ounces of phencyclidine (PCP)
• 62 miscellaneous pills
• 23 firearms

“Operation Sign Off shows what can happen when federal and local teams truly lock in and move with a shared mission,” U.S. Attorney R. Matthew Price of the Western District of Missouri said. “When we combine our priorities, our resources, and our determination, we’re able to take on violent crime with real force. This unified approach sends a clear message: we are doing everything in our power to protect our communities by bringing dangerous offenders to justice and getting them off our streets.”

ATF Special Agent in Charge Bernard “Butch” Hansen of the Kansas City Field Division said agents focused on people who use guns in violent crime and used crime-gun intelligence and on-site NIBIN support during the initiative.

“These efforts helped ensure that the most violent offenders are removed from our streets,” Hansen said.

He thanked partners including the St. Joseph Police Department Street Crime Unit, the Buchanan County Drug Strike Force and Northwest Missouri Drug Task Force, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the U.S. Marshals Service, saying their work was essential to identifying and advancing cases and making the St. Joseph area safer.

Buchanan County Sheriff Bill Puett said combining local, state and federal resources produces stronger results in removing violent and predatory offenders from the community.

“It is extremely important that we serve and protect our communities at the highest level standing ever vigilant making those communities as safe as possible by removing violent and predatory offenders who victimize our citizens and the innocent,” Puett said. “We are much better together, and by combining the talents and resources from local, state, and federal law enforcement partners ensures maximum results of service and protection to our citizens through removing dangerous criminals and predators from our communities.”

Price also thanked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office; and the St. Joseph Police Department.

Officials said the name Operation Sign Off pays tribute to longtime CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite, who was born in St. Joseph and closed his broadcasts with “And that’s the way it is.” They said the name reflects a goal of ending criminal activity and holding people accountable.

The Justice Department said the case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative the department describes as directing DOJ resources at illegal immigration, cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and people accused of violent crime.

The announcement did not identify the 21 defendants by name.