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Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Authorities on Thursday arrested 28 people linked to street gangs in south Los Angeles on suspicion of federal extortion, drug, extortion and firearms crimes. 10 suspects on the run.
According to the US Attorney's Office in Los Angeles, members and associates of this gang, known as the Eastside Playboys, have faced six grand jury indictments stemming from a four-year investigation dubbed Operation Rabbit Hole. arrested as part of Angeles. The East Side Playboys are allegedly linked to a Mexican Mafia prison gang, and prosecutors say they wreaked havoc in South LA for 50 years.
"Members and associates of this gang have built a criminal organization by trafficking guns and deadly drugs, extorting business owners, and terrorizing victims with violent assaults and robberies." said Amir. In the news release, he is Ehsaei, the acting assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles field office.
Investigators found about 50 guns, $140,000 in cash, 283 kilograms (624 pounds) of marijuana, nearly 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of methamphetamine, as well as varying amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, Seized heroin. Prosecutors also allege the gang said he operated two unlicensed marijuana dispensaries.
"Organized street gangs prey on our communities with violence, intimidation and terror," Los Angeles Police Chief Michelle Moore said in a release. "Their trade is facilitated by the trafficking of dangerous firearms and drugs."
One of the six indictments listed the gang as under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Calling it a criminal enterprise, it has indicted 18 defendants. The indictment included charges of the gang's involvement in a burglary robbery of a marijuana dealer at his Woodland Hills home in March 2020, as well as the attempted murder of a member of the gang who was stabbed for betraying the group. I'm here.
His 28 defendants, who were arrested Thursday, are due to be arraigned in federal court in Los Angeles.
