Feds help arrest hundreds in silent, undercover operation in Memphis

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WSMV) - President Trump’s plan to fight crime in Memphis began quietly earlier this year in Nashville and FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., according to Tennessee elected officials.

An undercover effort code-named “Operation Viper” netted 500 arrests and 100 indictments in Memphis, according to U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who shared the information on Monday while standing behind President Donald Trump in the Oval Office and praising FBI Director Kash Patel.

It wasn’t immediately clear who was arrested or indicted during the summer of 2025, but sources working in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee confirmed to WMC an uptick in recent firearms cases.

“It was important that there be a silent operation because you don’t want to announce when you’re about to come in and perform an operation like this. So, it’s been done quietly; and it’s been a 60-day effort,” Governor Bill Lee said.

Lee said the success of Operation Viper convinced him that Memphis should have more engagement from federal crime-fighting forces.

President Trump was flanked by senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, as well as Governor Bill Lee, in the Oval Office when he signed the memorandum to deploy the National Guard to Memphis to help curb the city’s violent crime problem.

The order establishes the Memphis Safe Task Force.

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Sen. Blackburn revealed at the White House that her early conversations with the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kash Patel, led to the undercover mission, “Operation Viper.”

“I want to say thank you to Director Patel because he had promised that he would come into Memphis,” said Blackburn. “We’ve had Operation Viper there this summer. There have been over 500 arrests. There are over 100 indictments, and Memphis had the best stats they have had in years this past August. Last month, it was the best August they have had.”

Governor Lee spoke with WMC in Memphis and said the success of Operation Viper has led him to believe that more uniforms can help with crime.

“We’re in a really unique spot in Memphis,” Lee explained. “We, like no other city in the country, have access to a commitment from the president and from his cabinet members that we will provide the resources that you need to eliminate the scourge of crime in your city. That’s a really unique position that Memphis is in. We not only have committed local law enforcement and local elected officials and a governor that cares about that city, we not only have all of that, we have the full resources of the federal government saying, ‘What do you need? We’ll help you.’ And that’s a really hopeful spot from my perspective. And my dream is that Memphis is filled with safe neighborhoods.”

The Governor went on to say that the exact number of National Guard troops being sent to Memphis has yet to be determined, but will be based on conversations with the Memphis Police Department, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, and other law enforcement agencies.

These National Guard members, even trained MPs, would only have full law enforcement power if Gov. Lee declares “a state of emergency” in Memphis and Shelby County.

A declaration he has yet to make.