Drug arrests drive South Dakota Highway Patrol Prairie Thunder saturations

State troopers arrest 187 in Sioux Falls during three crackdowns, more than 500 drug charges filed, 16 immigration-related arrests.

Flanked by Gov. Larry Rhoden and Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken, South Dakota Highway Patrol Superintendent Casey Collins speaks at a February press conference in Sioux Falls. (Joe. Sneve/The Dakota Scout)

Two additional Operation: Prairie Thunder deployments have landed more than 100 alleged bad guys behind bars in Sioux Falls.

That’s according to an analysis by The Dakota Scout of the latest arrest data released by the Department of Public Safety following the two Highway Patrol saturations in Minnehaha and Lincoln counties as part of a public safety campaign launched this summer by Gov. Larry Rhoden.

S.D. Highway Patrol conflated arrests made in Rhoden's Prairie Thunder saturation