Dozens of alleged gang members and associates were arrested during an early morning sweep in Orange and Los Angeles counties early Thursday morning, April 23, following a long-running investigation into scores of crimes — including murder, kidnapping, extortion, drug running and overseeing underground casinos — carried out on behalf of the Mexican Mafia, a powerful prison-based gang, authorities said.
The complex, two-year, multi-agency probe — dubbed “Operation Gangsta’s Paradise” — is the latest in a series of efforts by law enforcement to dismantle the Orange County faction of the Mexican Mafia, which is led by senior members of Latino street gangs who exert widespread control over gang activity across Southern California.
FBI and local SWAT teams took 25 people into custody without incident. More than a dozen other people linked to the investigation were already in custody.
In all, nearly 50 defendants were named in newly unsealed indictments with 66 criminal charges.
Law enforcement seized 4 kilograms of fentanyl, more than 54 kilograms of methamphetamine, nearly 1 kilogram of heroin, 3 kilograms of cocaine, 25 firearms and more than $30,000 in cash, authorities said.
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