Pierre, SD, USA / DRGNews Feb 25, 2021 10:07 AM United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that 37 people have been federally indicted as part of OCDETF Operation Say Uncle. OCDETF stands for Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, which is a “keystone of the Attorney General’s strategy to reduce the availability of illicit narcotics throughout the United States using a prosecutor-led, multi-agency approach to combat transnational organized crime.” OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, and transnational criminal organizations. Federal prosecutors in Rapid City, South Dakota, working cooperatively with law enforcement agencies across the State, federally charged 37 defendants with drug-related offenses, despite the challenges imposed on the criminal justice system and law enforcement officers everywhere by COVID-19. The South Dakota Attorney General’s Office charged nine persons with state offenses as part of the same Operation. The charges allege the defendants conspired with each other to bring multiple pounds of methamphetamine into Western South Dakota beginning in 2019 and continuing into 2020.