WASHINGTON, Sept. 18, 2025 – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and partner agencies have successfully dismantled a violent MS-13 cell operating within the Nashville, Tennessee metropolitan area, following a nine-month investigation.
This morning, law enforcement executed a series of court-authorized search warrants across three states—Tennessee, California, and Oklahoma—resulting in the arrests of at least 17 MS-13 members and associates. Authorities also seized large quantities of illegal narcotics, including marijuana, cocaine, counterfeit pills, THC vapes, and liquid psilocybin, as well as multiple firearms, including assault rifles.
“These arrests represent a critical milestone in DEA’s mission to dismantle drug trafficking organizations operating in the United States and around the globe,” said DEA Administrator Terrance Cole. “The residents of Nashville are safer today now that these dangerous individuals will be held accountable for their destructive actions.”
“This is the first of what will be many strikes against those who prey on the weak in our society,” said DEA Louisville Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jim Scott.
MS-13, a transnational criminal gang designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, has been linked to violent crimes and drug trafficking across the United States and Central America. The group is known for employing brutal tactics to maintain territorial control and spread influence, including extortion, human trafficking, and murder.
The operation was a coordinated effort by the DEA’s Louisville Field Division, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division, ATF, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, ICE, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, Tennessee Highway Patrol, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and regional drug task forces.
The DEA is urging anyone with information about MS-13 or other organized crime groups to submit tips anonymously via the DEA Tip Line at dea.gov/submit-tip.
The DEA will continue its whole-of-government approach, in partnership with the Homeland Security Task Force and other agencies, to target transnational criminal organizations and protect U.S. communities.
