The charges in these separate cases relate to a wide range of alleged illegal activity, including racketeering conspiracy, murder, murder conspiracy, narcotics trafficking, robbery, and gun trafficking. Teams of federal, state, and local law enforcement officers arrested 29 of these defendants today.
"Gangs were once found in big cities, but their operations are now migrating to rural areas," according to Kevin Perkins, assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division. "The types of offenses gang members commit are also changing, from drug running and petty crimes to home invasions and health-care fraud."
The seven MS-13 members in Washington are charged with RICO conspiracy and other offenses including two murders, armed robbery, sexual abuse while armed, kidnapping, and obstructing justice. The indictment alleges that between 2008 and 2010, MS-13 members sent money to gang leaders in El Salvador, as well as participated in the stabbing of rival gang members and kidnapping, among other crimes.
In Houston, 13 members of the Tri-City Bombers will face charges of trafficking of cocaine and ecstasy, as well as firearm-related offenses. In the Los Angeles area, indictments were filed against the Colonia Chiques gang in Oxnard, Calif., charging 12 members with trafficking methamphetamine, crack cocaine and heroin.
In Kansas City, seven members of the Click Clack gang are charged for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and for illegally possessing firearms. According to court documents, the gang derives its name from the sound of racking the slide of a semi-automatic handgun. During the investigation, law enforcement officers recovered more than 20 firearms, as well as narcotics and cash.
The Las Vegas indictment charges two gang members and others with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine from July 2009 to the present.
The cases were investigated by field offices of the FBI, ATF, and ICE Homeland Security Investigations, as well as numerous additional federal, state, and local partners.
