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He added that the bureau has deployed roughly 1,000 additional agents nationwide to target violent crime and fugitive apprehension.
“These agents are working around the clock and around the world to bring justice,” Patel said. “That is why you see these record numbers. Six top 10 captures in one year, which has never been done before, and we’re just getting started.”
The milestone followed the January arrest of Ten Most Wanted fugitive Alejandro Rosales Castillo. Patel joined FBI Charlotte Special Agent in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr. and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Chief Estella D. Patterson to announce Castillo’s return to Charlotte, North Carolina.
Castillo was captured in Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico, on January 16, 2026. The FBI’s Legal Attaché Office in Mexico City coordinated with Agencia de Investigación Criminal-INTERPOL and Mexico’s Secretaría de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana to secure his transfer to U.S. authorities.
Castillo had been added to the Ten Most Wanted list on October 24, 2017. He is accused of murdering 23-year-old Truc Quan Sandy Ly Le in 2016, whose body was found in a wooded area of Cabarrus County, North Carolina. State charges filed in November 2016 included first-degree murder, kidnapping, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and larceny of a motor vehicle. A federal warrant followed in February 2017 for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
“Alejandro Castillo is one of six Ten Most Wanted fugitives apprehended under this FBI in less than one year,” Patel said. He credited President Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and international law enforcement partners for the operation’s success.
Patel has also made national headlines for a massive crackdown on the Latin Kings street gang. Nearly 50 members and associates were arrested in a sweeping multistate operation aimed at dismantling gang-related crime, drug trafficking, and violence across the U.S.
The effort, dubbed “Operation Broken Crown,” involved more than a dozen FBI field offices working alongside federal, state, local, and tribal partners over a three-month period starting in October 2025. Officials reported the seizure of more than a dozen firearms, nearly $200,000 in illicit funds, and over 10 kilograms of cocaine, fentanyl, and other narcotics.
“Under President Trump’s and Attorney General Bondi’s leadership, this FBI is dismantling violent gang networks in America at a record clip — breaking their operations and saving lives in the process,” Patel told Fox News.
He pointed to a 210% increase in gang takedowns in 2025, targeting notorious groups like MS-13 and Tren de Aragua, adding that “just weeks in to 2026, we’re announcing another 3 month takedown operation.”
Patel emphasized the bureau’s commitment to fighting violent crime, saying, “We will continue working 24/7 to crush violent crime and eliminate networks facilitating harm on the American people.”
The arrests included gang members charged with a range of offenses, from federal firearm and narcotics violations to theft and other criminal activity. In January, law-enforcement personnel in Milwaukee detained several gang members on drug trafficking and firearm possession charges, seizing additional weapons and cash.
The Latin Kings are among the largest street gangs operating across multiple states. Federal officials described these arrests as a coordinated step to dismantle organized crime and reduce the threat posed by violent gang networks.
