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PHOENIX — Saying she wants to clear up "loose talk," Gov. Janet Napolitano called the media together Monday to detail what she said is the success of a program targeted at taking the money of human smugglers.

Napolitano said a practice known as "damming warrants" has resulted in the state seizing $15 million in the last year from 12,400 wire transfers. The name comes from the procedure which allows state prosecutors to get a court order to "dam" up wire transfers unless and until the person to whom the money was sent can show the cash is for a legal purpose.

The governor also said 160 people have been arrested.

Although the program has been going on for more than a year — and the law dates back to even before Napolitano was elected in 2002 — the governor said Monday's decision to call a press conference was tied to her chances of re-election.

"It's important for the people of Arizona to know what's been going on because there's a lot of loose talk," said Napolitano.

Napolitano said that until now there have been "matters that we're not free to talk about because they were in the process of investigation." She said some of the larger "damming warrants" have become public over the last few weeks.

"So it became appropriate to give you a sense of the whole project and the scope of the whole project," said Napolitano, who has been under fire from many Republican legislators who say she had done little to cut the flow of people coming into this country illegally.