PHOENIX, March 30 (UPI) -- Thirty aircraft will take part in a crime suppression sweep of desert drug-smuggling corridors in Maricopa County, Ariz., Sherriff Joe Arpaio says.
Arpaio said Tuesday "Operation Desert Sky" will target drug corridors with fixed wing aircraft searching for smugglers, The Arizona Republic reported.
The operation will be bolstered by the use of human-smuggling and drug enforcement units, drug sniffing dogs, armed posses and SWAT teams armed with M-16 rifles, he said.
"I don't go along with the theory that the border is more secure than ever before," Arpaio said. "I'm not going to blame the federal government because they are never going to secure the border. I blame the politicians that say we must secure the border first."
"(The operation is a) dangerous escalation of the prejudice and violence for which the state has become known," human rights activist Salvador Reza said. "It will spend taxpayer dollars to put 30 pilots into the air and put everyone at risk by arming vigilantes with M16s and machine guns, according to reports."
Arpaio denies taxpayers will pay, saying money is projected to come from $1.5 million set aside by the Arizona Legislature to fight illegal immigration. Also, posse members are volunteers and the task forces are already in use, the Republic said.
"If we don't arrest anybody, I'll be just as happy because it will be used as a deterrent," Arpaio said.
