State police arrest 29 as they target ‘high crime areas’ in the metro-east

A series of patrols by Illinois State Police launched two years ago in “known high crime areas” in and around East St. Louis continued this week with 29 arrests and the seizure of six guns, the agency announced Thursday. This was the 20th time state agents have organized multi-day crackdowns in East St. Louis and surrounding communities in St. Clair and Madison counties since June 2023, according to a Belleville News-Democrat review of state police announcements.

Since the patrols began, 645 arrests have been made and 301 firearms have been seized.

The latest operation was conducted Monday through Wednesday.

Illinois State Police agents from across the state worked on what the agency describes as a “violent crime suppression detail,” according to a news release. The Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southern Illinois also participated.

In a case on Tuesday, agents stopped a vehicle on St. Louis Avenue near 12th Street in East St. Louis and seized a “large amount of suspected cannabis,” according to the news release. Charges are pending against the driver, whose name was not released.

A handgun was seized Wednesday during a traffic stop at the intersection of St. Paul Drive and St. William Drive in Cahokia Heights, according to the news release.