Seventy-Four Violent Street Gang Members Charged with Narcotics Violations

More than 1,000 police officers and federal agents executed dozens of arrest and search warrants this morning in a coordinated operation in which members of a violent street gang were taken into custody for their alleged roles in the widespread distribution of narcotics. The results of today´s operation were announced by George S. Cardona, Acting United States Attorney in Los Angeles; William Bratton, Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department; Keith Bolcar, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI in Los Angeles; and Carmen Trutanich, City Attorney in Los Angeles. The announcement of the law enforcement operation called "40 Ounces to Freedom" was made on behalf of multiple agencies that participated in the investigation to assist the FBI/LAPD task force.

Seventy-four members of the gang known as the "Rollin´ 40s Neighborhood Crips" were charged in 23 federal indictments and 45 state warrants for their alleged roles in a narcotics trafficking conspiracy that operated within a three-square-mile area of Los Angeles. The federal indictments that were unsealed this morning charge 29 gang members with crimes that include conspiracy, possession with the intent to distribute cocaine base ("crack") and methamphetamine, and firearms violations. Forty-five additional members of the gang are named in state charges filed in Los Angeles Superior Court for their roles in the illegal drug distribution operation. Many of the defendants at the federal and state level were arrested this morning; however several defendants were already in custody on both related and unrelated charges. Several subjects of this operation are still being sought by law enforcement, including six federal defendants and 20 state defendants.