More than 40 suspected members of the notorious MS-13 gang faced federal charges Wednesday in Los Angeles.
More than 40 suspected members of the notorious MS-13 gang faced federal charges Wednesday in Los Angeles in what law enforcement officials called one of the most significant busts of the transnational gang in its notorious decades-long history.
The 44 alleged members and associates included a former head of the entire gang in Los Angeles and a dozen high-ranking members, the U. S. Attorney’s Office of Los Angeles said in a statement.
At least 21 people were arrested without incident Wednesday morning, according to the statement. Some 20 suspects, already in state custody, were transferred to federal custody. Three of those facing charges are considered fugitives.
The defendants face federal charges for murder, extortion, drugs and weapons-related crimes.
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“This gang is responsible for murders — both of rival gangsters and innocent bystanders — as well as drug dealing and extortion in many communities in the Los Angeles area, ” Acting United States Attorney Sandra R. Brown said in the statement. “Today’s charges and arrests, however, will deal a critical blow to the top leadership of this criminal organization and will significantly improve safety in neighborhoods across this region.”
The high-ranking leaders were “shot-callers” and others who made up what law enforcement officials described as a leadership council of MS-13. Thirty-four of the defendants facing charges were named in a racketeering indictment unsealed Wednesday.
In addition to those named in the indictment, authorities filed a drug-trafficking indictment against five other alleged gang members associated with the Mexican mafia and had arrested others on separate charges.
The takedown capped a three-year investigation involving nearly two dozen law enforcement agencies led by the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Agency and the Los Angeles Police Department.
Those arrested on Wednesday were expected to be arraigned on the charges against them later in the day in United States District Court, according to the statement. Those already in custody would be brought into federal court to face their charges at a later date.
Authorities also seized approximately two kilos of methamphetamine as well heroin, according to DEA officials. Nearly two dozen guns were seized as part of the investigation.
MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, started three decades ago on the streets of Los Angeles, and was originally made up mainly of immigrants and young people from El Salvador who had fled the country’s civil war. The gang’s tentacles reach into Central America and across the United States. RELATED: Teens become emergency workers to escape gangs
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Teens become emergency workers to escape gangs
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Teens become emergency workers to escape gangs
Rescuers eat lunch at the Comandos de Salvamento base in San Salvador, El Salvador August 17,2016. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
A rescue worker sleeps after the night shift at the Comandos de Salvamento base in San Salvador, El Salvador July 2,2016. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
Rescuer Brandon Martinez gears up for a practice session at the Comandos de Salvamento base in San Salvador, El Salvador July 2,2016. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
Rescuer Irving Altamirano embraces his mother, Claudia, as she visits him at the Comandos de Salvamento base in San Salvador, El Salvador August 17,2016. Claudia is a former member of the Comandos de Salvamento. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
Joel Altamirano skates on a skateboard at the Comandos de Salvamento base in San Salvador, El Salvador August 10,2016. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
Comandos de Salvamento rescuer participates in a car accident rescue practice in San Salvador, El Salvador July 27,2016. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
Comandos de Salvamento rescuers Emmanuel Martinez (L) , Brandon Martinez (C) , and Joel Altamirano rest during a car accident rescue practice in San Salvador, El Salvador July 27,2016. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
Comandos de Salvamento rescuers Brandon Martinez (L) and Brayan Hernandez participate in a car accident rescue practice in San Salvador, El Salvador July 27,2016. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
Comandos de Salvamento rescuer Brayan Hernandez rests during a car accident rescue practice in San Salvador, El Salvador July 27,2016. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
Members of the rescue unit participate in a practice session at the Comandos de Salvamento base in San Salvador, El Salvador July 2,2016. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
Volunteer Carlos Rodas (L) prepares for his first jump with rescuer Josue Najarro as they participate in a vertical rescue practice in San Salvador, El Salvador July 13,2016. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
Comandos de Salvamento rescuer Emmanuel Martinez stands at the scene of a car accident in San Salvador, El Salvador July 7,2016. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
Comandos de Salvamento rescuers rest during a car accident rescue practice in San Salvador, El Salvador July 27,2016. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
Blood stains are seen after Comandos de Salvamento rescuers attended to a suspected gang member who was shot near the Comandos de Salvamento base in San Salvador, El Salvador August 15,2016. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
Rescuers prepare lunch at the Comandos de Salvamento base in San Salvador, El Salvador August 17,2016. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
Rescuers watch TV as they wait during the night shift at the Comandos de Salvamento base in San Salvador, El Salvador July 17,2016. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
Rescuers Joel Altamirano (L) and Cesar Munoz share a soda at the Comandos de Salvamento base in San Salvador, El Salvador August 10,2016. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
Comandos de Salvamento rescuers try to disconnect a car battery to avoid risk of fire after a car accident in San Salvador, El Salvador July 17,2016. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
Rescue worker Josue Najarro and his niece look at a phone during the night shift at the Comandos de Salvamento base in San Salvador, El Salvador July 4,2016. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
A car crash scene is pictured in San Salvador, El Salvador July 7,2016. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
Comandos de Salvamento rescuers attend to a suspected gang member after he was shot near the Comandos de Salvamento base in San Salvador, El Salvador August 15,2016. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
Comandos de Salvamento rescuer Alcides Altamirano speaks with a policeman outside a hospital where they delivered a suspected gang member after he was shot near the Comandos de Salvamento base in San Salvador, El Salvador August 15,2016. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
Comandos de Salvamento rescuers Alcides Altamirano (L) and Irving Altamirano attend to a woman bitten by a dog in San Salvador, El Salvador August 15,2016. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
Comandos de Salvamento rescuers Maria Martinez (L) and Brayan Hernandez attend to a wounded homeless man in San Salvador, El Salvador July 16,2016. The man was attacked with a machete by suspected gang members. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
A photograph of 14-year-old Comandos de Salvamento volunteer Erick Beltran, who was killed by suspected gang members, is seen during his funeral in Quezaltepeque, El Salvador April 13,2016. Beltran is the first volunteer to be killed on duty in 56 years of CDS. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
Comandos de Salvamento rescuers wash blood off a stretcher after attending to a suspected gang member who was shot near the Comandos de Salvamento base in San Salvador, El Salvador August 15,2016.
