Alleged members of LA gang with ties to Mexican mafia arrested after search warrants served

SAN PEDRO, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Several alleged gang members with ties to the Mexican mafia were arrested following a multi-agency operation in San Pedro early Tuesday morning.

Seventeen state and federal search warrants were served at various locations across the neighborhood as part of a multi-year investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations. Several other agencies helped carry out the operation.

The investigation targeted the Rancho San Pedro (RSP) gang which “operates under the control of Mexican Mafia members who are incarcerated in California state prisons,” according to an FBI press release. The gang is estimated to consist of 500 members.

Eight out of fourteen individuals were taken into federal custody Tuesday, as well as five others who are facing state charges.

“They think that they can exist with impunity. They think they can go ahead and carry out these various criminal deeds and no one will stop them,” L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said during a press conference. “Today marks one of the best days to make that point crystal clear to these violent crime organizations that we will stop them.”

The federal complaint accuses 13 of them for their alleged roles in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Conspiracy (RICO) and for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. A fourteenth person is accused of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

“These arrests are good news for the affected Harbor communities, but the even better news is that the FBI… and our other federal, state and local law enforcement partners are not yet finished in our collective mission to target the most violent and dangerous gangs and criminal actors in the Southland,” said Eddy Wang with the Department of Homeland Security Investigations.

The alleged gang members are expected to make their appearance in court Tuesday. If convicted on the charges they’re facing, most of them could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.