U.S. indicts 18 more alleged members of Florencia 13 gang in racketeering case
Another 18 suspected members of the Florencia 13 street gang have been arrested and charged with racketeering, conspiracy and illegal weapons possession, the U.S. attorney’s office announced Tuesday.
The arrests are connected to two indictments unsealed Tuesday, charging 41 suspected members of the Latino gang and street dealers they allegedly used to distribute drugs, authorities said.
In addition to those arrested Tuesday, 10 others who were indicted were already in custody, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
The remaining 13 people charged in the Tuesday indictments are still at large.
Earlier this month, the office announced indictments of 61 alleged members of Florencia 13.
All together, 102 alleged members of Florencia 13 have been charged in the case, believed to be the largest federal indictment of a Southern California street gang.
Authorities allege that the gang used murder and attempted murder to control and tax drug sales in Huntington Park and the unincorporated Florence-Firestone neighborhood.
It also alleged that a member of the Mexican Mafia prison gang housed at Pelican Bay State Prison had ordered the gang to rid the area of rival African American gangs.
That violence, according to the indictments, caused a wave of racial gang violence that victimized blacks who were not affiliated with any gang.
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