The FBI brought at least 90 personnel to the Wind River Indian Reservation this week as part of a sweeping drug and gun bust, federal authorities said at a Friday press conference in Riverton.
Newly appointed Interim U.S. Attorney for Wyoming Darin Smith reported a successful operation at that press conference.
Many locals on Thursday speculated that the federal operation was related to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity or the Wyoming National Guard in support of ICE, but that was not the case, the FBI announced that morning.
Tyler McCurdy, assistant special agent in charge of the Denver FBI Field Office, told the media Friday that over the past two days, the FBI personnel had worked alongside other agencies, and that law enforcement executed 12 federal search warrants, one federal arrest warrant and three local arrest warrants.
Wyoming-based FBI personnel were supplemented by a Salt Lake City FBI SWAT team, a Denver FBI SWAT team, and FBI tactical assets from Quantico, Virginia, added McCurdy.
The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, Wyoming Highway Patrol, Fremont County Sheriff’s Office and Riverton Police Department also partnered with FBI, McCurdy said, as part of the Rocky Mountain Safe Trails task force.
That task force has had “many successes” over the past year, McCurdy continued, citing the sentencing this month of two illegal aliens on drug trafficking convictions, and the July sentencing of two women caught bringing six pounds of meth to Fremont County from Las Vegas, Nevada.
Lori Hogan, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Wyoming, confirmed later that the latter reference was to Mary Weymouth and Cathy Gordon.
Weymouth was a jelly seller at the local farmer’s market who struck up a rapport with an undercover DCI agent who came to her jelly table, court documents say.
Weymouth was sentenced last month to 70 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Gordon was sentenced to 120 months in prison.
“Many people have died here in Fremont County as a result of the cycle” of drugs, said McCurdy.
Smith concluded the press conference by warning that “for the bad actors out there, those that are poisoning our kids by trying to bring in meth and fentanyl and other drugs — we’re coming for you.”
Smith also thanked President Donald Trump and federal programs geared toward such operations.
Federal charging documents from the operation's arrests were not available Friday.
Contact Clair McFarland at clair@cowboystatedaily.com
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
