NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Federal and local authorities arrested 44 people on federal indictments during a major Nashville operation targeting illegal firearms sales and drug trafficking, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee.
The arrests were made during the weekend of Aug. 19-23 as part of “Operation Last Call,” a months-long Summer 2026 enforcement initiative involving the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Marshals Service and Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.
Authorities said undercover federal agents conducted controlled purchases of firearms and narcotics from suspects in multiple areas of Nashville. The locations targeted during the operation were selected following a three-year analysis of shooting crimes, shots-fired calls and ballistic intelligence from the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, or NIBIN.
“This was a data driven operation,” U.S. Attorney Braden H. Boucek said, adding that investigators focused on areas connected to shootings and violent crimes.
More Than 160 Guns, Fentanyl and Methamphetamine Seized
Authorities reported seizing more than 160 firearms during the operation, including numerous assault-style rifles equipped with high-capacity magazines.
Investigators also recovered multiple machine gun conversion devices, commonly known as “switches,” which can convert certain pistols into fully automatic firearms.
The narcotics seizures included more than two kilograms of methamphetamine, more than one kilogram of fentanyl and more than half a kilogram each of powder cocaine and crack cocaine.
Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said the operation concentrated on several areas identified through crime data, including the Harding Place/I-24 corridor, Bell Road-Murfreesboro Pike area, Brick Church Pike-Trinity Lane corridor and the Napier-Sudekum neighborhood.
Of the 44 defendants arrested, 27 had previous felony convictions, including convictions for aggravated assault, attempted aggravated robbery, firearm offenses, aggravated burglary and narcotics trafficking. Ten defendants were allegedly already on probation, parole, supervised release or bond when the offenses occurred.
The federal indictments include a wide range of allegations involving fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine and crack distribution, illegal firearm sales, possession of firearms by convicted felons, machine gun conversion devices and possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes.
The ATF Nashville Field Office, U.S. Marshals Service for Middle Tennessee and Metropolitan Nashville Police Department conducted the investigations. Federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee are prosecuting the cases.
