Over 400 pounds of illegal drugs and 20 firearms have been seized countywide in the past year as a result of “Operation Clean Sweep.”

At a press conference last week, Broome County District Attorney Paul Battisti discussed the county’s participation in the operation, which was a collaboration between federal and local agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, along with the Broome County Sheriff’s Office and local police departments, to seize illegal drugs and firearms.

Along with Battisti, those who spoke at the conference include John Sarcone III, the assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York; Broome County Sheriff Fred Akshar; Craig Tremaroli, a special agent in charge of the FBI’s Albany Field Office; and Farhana Islam, the special agent in charge of the New York Task Enforcement Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

“Operation Clean Sweep is a clear example of what can be accomplished when law enforcement comes together with a shared mission,” Islam said at the conference.

According to Battisti, “Operation Clean Sweep” began in early 2025 and the operation has resulted in between 12 and 30 arrests, with many leading to convictions.

Four hundred seventy-five grams of fentanyl were also seized as a result of the operation. Battisti said this is enough to kill 250,000 people, greater than the entire population of Broome County.

“All of this has been removed from the street because Broome County law enforcement is collaborating with our federal, state and local partners,” Battisti said at the conference. “We have incredible members of law enforcement here in Broome County and every day this collaboration gets stronger.”

Beyond fentanyl, 63 pounds of methamphetamine, 2.374 kilograms of liquid methadone, 350 grams of crack cocaine, 2.6 pounds of mushrooms, 1.6 kilograms of cocaine, over 400 pounds of marijuana and THC products and 20 firearms have been seized in the past year in Broome County as a result of Operation Clean Sweep.

Battisti also explained that the operation supports prosecution efforts. Sarcone said he is working to bring a full-time federal judge to Binghamton and additional assistant U.S. attorneys to support the prosecution of these offenses going forward.

The conference did not go into detail about specific operations so as not to “impair the integrity of ongoing investigations,” according to Battisti.

“For the last five years we’ve had a system of lawlessness that I call a revolving door of crime,” said Sarcone. “Now that may work in some places, maybe in Brooklyn or Queens, but not up here.”

Broome County saw a sharp decline in the number of overdoses in 2025. Nonfatal overdoses fell by 29 percent compared to the previous year. Fatal overdoses fell by 43 percent, according to data by the Broome County Health Department released in January of this year.

According to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, there were 36.6 drug arrests [HYPERLINK: https://www.bupipedream.com/news/drug-issue-crime-rate-trends/165068/] per 10,000 residents in Broome County in 2020, compared to 17 drug arrests in the rest of the state excluding New York City.

“The interagency partnership of Operation Clean Sweep should send a clear message to those who continue to peddle poison in our community, to those who possess illegal firearms, and to those who choose violence and put the lives of our community members in danger in Broome County: We are coming for you and you will be held accountable,” Akshar said in a statement to Pipe Dream. “Our community demands it.”