GALLUP, N.M. – Operations aimed at cracking down on street racing within Gallup and the surrounding area of northwestern New Mexico’s McKinley County have netted a dozen arrests and produced 70 traffic citations, officials said.

The arrests made during operations conducted July 17 and Aug. 7 included five for DWI, the New Mexico State Police said in a statement.

The statement said the Gallup Police Department had asked the State Police for help in curbing street racing and that the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office also participated in the operations. Each operation lasted at least six hours.

Tim Johnson, chief of the State Police, said illegal street racing is a problem statewide and “unnecessarily puts the safety of citizens traveling in New Mexico in danger.”