String of Indictments by DOJ Point to Multiple Global Operations
Task force at the center, once headed by Bruce Ohr, now directed by Deputy AG Rosenstein
The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program was established in 1982 as a means to combat increasingly organized drug traffickers. OCDETF is an unusually broad coalition that, as noted by former-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, “brings together just about every federal law enforcement agency there is. It’s the Swiss Army knife of law enforcement.” The OCDETF strategy, which currently operates under the direction of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, aims to “focus federal drug resources on reducing the flow of illicit drugs and drug proceeds by identifying and targeting the major trafficking organizations, eliminating the financial infrastructure of drug organizations.”
In October 2017, Sessions announced that he was designating MS-13 as a priority for the OCDETF. Sessions came under some criticism for his actions, with many noting that MS-13 did not represent a significant force in the drug trafficking business. But Sessions himself acknowledged this, while at the same time noting the strength of OCDETF’s reach:
“MS-13 sells drugs, but they are not primarily a drug trafficking organization. I have ordered OCDETF to prioritize MS-13 not because of their drug trafficking—but because OCDETF is such a powerful weapon.
OCDETF is able to hit MS-13 from all angles.”
Interestingly, until early January 2018, the OCDETF operated under the direction of DOJ official Bruce Ohr. On Dec. 7, 2017, Ohr was demoted and stripped of his associate deputy attorney general title. A month later, on Jan. 8, 2018, it was reported by Fox News that Ohr had been removed as the head of the OCDETF as well. Ohr was demoted and stripped of his responsibilities after it was learned that the the FBI used Ohr as a conduit for unofficial information from former MI6 spy Christopher Steele—who authored the now infamous dossier on then-presidential candidate Donald Trump—after Steele was formally terminated by the FBI. Ohr had not informed his superiors of this ongoing relationship. It would later be learned that Ohr’s wife, Nellie Ohr, worked for Fusion GPS, the firm who hired Steele to produce the dossier.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/string-of-indictments-by-doj-point-to-multiple-global-operations_2758670.html