Here’s how a small North Texas police force won 2 international investigation awards

Domingo Ramirez Jr.
·2 min read

The Collleyville Police Department, one of the smallest departments in Texas, has won two international law enforcement awards for its work in solving two high-profile cases, police said in a news release. One involved closing down a worldwide sex trafficking website and the other brought down an international elder fraud ring that operated from Nigeria, police said.

The department won the awards from the International Association of Chiefs of Police, which has more than 31,000 members in more than 165 countries.

Each year, the association honors law enforcement officers and agencies for their leadership, excellence and professionalism. A total of 15 awards are given out each year.

The Colleyville Police Department will receive the awards during the IACP annual awards banquet in September.

“It is a feat for any agency to win one award, but for a department the size of Colleyville to win two agency awards in one year is absolutely incredible,” said Colleyville Police Chief Michael C. Miller in a Thursday news release. “It speaks to the capabilities of our team, the interesting and meaningful work we are doing here, and the quality of our partnerships.”

Colleyville police received the 2021 IACP/Thomson Reuters Excellence in Criminal Investigations Award for their sex trafficking investigation, which led to the closing down of the CityXGuide website and the arrest of its owner. Colleyville worked with Homeland Security Investigations’ (HSI) Dallas field office, the U.S. Secret Service, HSI’s El Paso and San Jose field offices, as well as the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Colleyville police also won the 2021 IACP Leadership in the Prevention of Transnational Crime Award for their work investigating a transnational crime organization involving several romance and lottery scams that targeted elderly victims. On this case, Colleyville worked with the U.S. Secret Service and investigators from the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office. Four suspects accused of bilking victims of more than $4 million were arrested. At least $200,000 has been secured and authorities are working to return the money to victims.

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