District Attorneys Announce 313 Initiative

Posted on February 2, 2023

Several District Attorneys General for East Tennessee announced a new joint initiative focused on disrupting the drug trafficking pipeline between Detroit, Michigan, and East Tennessee. 4^th Judicial District Attorney General James Dunn, 5^th Judicial District Attorney General Ryan Desmond, 6^th Judicial District Attorney General Charme Allen, 7^th Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark, and 8^th Judicial District Attorney General Jared Effler announced the creation of the 313 Initiative.

The 313 Initiative is a concerted and organized effort by numerous state and local law enforcement agencies to identify, target, and dismantle individuals and groups from the Detroit, Michigan, area who have chosen Knox and surrounding counties to distribute prolific amounts of narcotics, which ultimately lead to increased numbers of associated violent crimes and overdose deaths. Law enforcement agencies will utilize all available resources and investigative tools to identify these individuals and groups from Detroit and will use both traditional detective work and 21^st-century technology to stop the pipeline of illegal drugs into our community. Since the initiative began in December, we have seized 42 pounds of Methamphetamine, nearly 8 pounds of Fentanyl/Heroin, multiple pounds of other drugs, 29 guns, and made 46 Detroit-connected arrests.

“We want everyone to know that Knoxville and surrounding counties are a hostile market for would-be drug traffickers,” said DA Charme Allen.

The partner agencies in the 313 Initiative include the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Knoxville Police Department, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, 4^th Judicial Drug Task Force, Sevier County Street Crimes, 5^th Judicial Drug Task Force, 7^th Judicial Crime Task Force, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee, and the District Attorneys General of the 4^th, 5^th, 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th Judicial Districts. Through the 313 Initiative, information and intelligence will be entered into a database to be shared with partner agencies instead of being locked away in a casefile, benefitting all of East Tennessee.

If you have any questions, please contact Sean McDermott at 865-215-2515 or Sean.McDermott@knoxcounty.org. For more information about the District Attorney’s Office, visit our website at dag.knoxcountytn.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.