Federal officials said they broke up a drug ring in Arizona that included a member of the notorious MS-13 gang.
MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, is a gang known for its violent tactics, including beheadings. Its motto is “kill, rape, control.”
The drug ring bust took place after Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents and Scottsdale Police Department officers searched four homes in Mesa at the same time on March 1.
The houses held caches of weapons, ammunition, and body armor, in addition to $28,000 in cash.
Agents also found 2 kilograms of cocaine and 1,000 pills agents believe are fentanyl, a deadly drug that’s become increasingly popular in the United States, the DEA said in a press release.
Jose Gonzalez-Ramos, Yasary Bejarano, Luis Adrian Gonzalez Perez, Carlos Daniel Pineda Martinez, Jorge Marin Cuevas, and John Hernandez Vera were arrested.
Gonzalez-Ramos told agents he’s a member of MS-13.
“The safety and protection of American citizens by targeting drug traffickers, violent gang members and other criminal organizations is our highest priority,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Doug Coleman in a statement. “These criminals who prey on our communities will be discovered and, along with our law enforcement partners, the men and women of DEA will bring them to justice.”
The defendants were charged with a range of felonies including drug possession and money laundering.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety and Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office was also involved in the operation.
2 More Charged in Gang-Linked Murder
Prosecutors say two more MS-13 gang members have been charged in a killing on a New York City subway platform.
Victor Lopez and Tito Martinez-Alvarenga were arraigned on Feb. 22, on charges including murder and gang assault in the shooting death of 20-year-old Abel Mosso. Video of a fight that turned into a homicide at the 90th Street subway station in Queens was circulated social media on Feb. 3.
Ramiro Gutierrez was arrested shortly after the killing. Queens District Attorney Richard Brown says all three defendants participated in assaulting Mosso before Gutierrez fired the final shot.
Authorities say all three defendants are MS-13 members. Mosso was suspected of being a member of a rival gang.
“What we know here now [is] that the individual we have in custody is an individual that is known to us,” New York City Police Department (NYPD) Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said. “He is in our criminal group database as an MS-13 gang member.”
Information on attorneys who could speak for the defendants wasn’t available.
President Donald Trump mentioned the killing as an example of MS-13-linked violence in his Feb. 5 State of the Union address.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
