"Community Shield" Nabs 300 LA Gang Members
Many gang members were foreign born and previously deported
AP
LA jails will be getting more guests. Close to 300 LA gang members were arrested as part of a nationwide crackdown, according to federal officials.
A total of 1785 arrests were made in 89 cities around the country. Authorities targeted gangs and their associates involved in drug trafficking, money laundering, identity theft, human trafficking, and other crimes according to the Daily News.
Of the 293 arrests made in LA, 185 were on criminal charges. Many had been previously in custody. The gangs targeted included some infamous names: the 18th Street Gang, Mara Salvatrucha 13 (MS-13), Surenos-13, Latin Kings, Bloods, Crips and Vatos Locos, according to the Daily News.
“The goal of [Operation] Community Shield isn’t to just take individual gang members off the streets, but to disrupt the cycle of crime and dismantle the entire gang,” Virginia Kice, spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told the LA Times.
Many gang members were foreign born and previously deported according to Kice. Federal officials are working on prosecuting them for felony immigration violations.
The majority of arrests occurred in Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire, with a small number in Orange and Ventura County.
