“These strike forces enable sustained coordination across multiple jurisdictions to help disrupt the worst gun trafficking corridors,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in the release.
The teams, each led by a US attorney, will be based in five cities that provide lucrative markets for sellers of illegal guns: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, DC, the release said.
The strike forces will collaborate with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and with state and local law enforcement partners in the five cities where shootings have become an everyday occurrence, the release added.
In addition, the teams will coordinate with law enforcement in areas of the country where illegally trafficked guns originate, according to the release.