20 people arrested

Twenty people were arrested during a law enforcement operation last week targeting violent offenders in Bemidji and the surrounding areas. According to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), the operation, which took place on July 24-25, focused on offenders wanted for firearms violations, shootings and narcotics offenses. Additionally, some people were taken into custody on outstanding warrants.

In total, law enforcement recovered four illegal firearms, one gun silencer, ammunition and small amounts of illicit narcotics.

Many different local, state, and federal agencies were involved in the operation. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s (BCA) Violent Crime Reduction Unit led the way in partnership with the Paul Bunyan Drug Task Force, Bemidji Police Department, Leech Lake and Red Lake tribal police departments, the Hubbard, Cass and Beltrami County sheriff’s offices, the FBI’s Headwaters Safe Trails Task Force and the BCA Bemidji Regional Office.

In a press release, the Minnesota BCA stated that all of those arrested were booked into either the Cass County Jail, the Hubbard County Jail or the Red Lake Detention Center pending formal charges.