Dozens of MS-13 gangsters are rounded up in Los Angeles as police carry out pre-dawn raids to nab leaders of the brutal gang

  • Police arrested 21 MS-13 gang members at 40 different locations in Los Angeles
  • Hundreds of federal and local police stormed homes and storefronts on Wednesday to nab leaders of the brutal gang
  • They were arrested on various charges, including narcotics trafficking
  • The operation is the latest in an anti-racketeering case involving 44 members

By Emily Crane For Dailymail.com

Published: 11:14 EST, 17 May 2017 | Updated: 17:11 EST, 17 May 2017

Dozens of high-ranking members of the notorious MS-13 street gang have been rounded up and arrested in Los Angeles in pre-dawn raids. 

Hundreds of federal and local law enforcement officers fanned out across the city early Wednesday morning as they stormed homes and storefronts to nab leaders of the brutal gang.

Authorities - headed by the FBI - arrested 21 people at more than 40 locations on various charges, including narcotics trafficking and other violent crimes.

Many of them were illegal immigrants.  

Hundreds of federal and local law enforcement officers fanned out across the city early Wednesday morning and stormed homes and storefronts to nab leaders of the Mara Salvatrucha gang

Dozens of high-ranking members of the notorious MS-13 street gang have been rounded up and arrested in Los Angeles in pre-dawn raids on Wednesday

The operation, which was part of a three-year investigation into the violent gang, is the latest step in a multi-agency anti-racketeering case. 

The 21 arrested with ties to MS-13 were among the 44 people who are part of this racketeering case. Twenty of those are already serving time in jail and three are considered to be fugitives. 

Three alleged MS-13 gangsters were charged in the racketeering indictment for murders they committed in connection with the gang's activities.

Carlos Alfredo Cardoza Lopez, also known as 'Little Boy,' 23, is accused of fatally shooting an innocent bystander in the gang-controlled Little San Salvador Nightclub in August 2015. A friend of the murder victim was also stabbed during the attack.

Two other MS-13 members - Samuel Alexander Paredes Rivas, also known as 'Blacky,' 39, and Joffri Molina, also known as 'Espia,' 24 - are also charged with murder. Rivas is accused of murdering a man in August 2015 at a strip mall in Pacoima. Molina allegedly murdered a man in September 2015 on a street in North Hollywood.

The 21 arrested with ties to MS-13 were among the 44 people who are part of this racketeering case. Twenty of those are already serving time in jail and three are considered to be fugitives

Authorities - headed by the FBI - arrested 21 people at more than 40 locations on charges of narcotics trafficking and other violent crimes

Three alleged MS-13 gangsters were charged in the racketeering indictment for murders they committed in connection with the gang's activities 

Agents and officers served warrants at 41 locations. The targets included some members of the gang's leadership

At least 44 high-ranking members of the notorious MS-13 gang members face federal charges after they were rounded up and arrested in Los Angeles pre-dawn police raids. The 21 (pictured) arrested with ties to MS-13 were a part of a racketeering case

The 21 arrested with ties to MS-13 were among 44 people who are part of this racketeering case. Those arrested included shot callers

Twelve guns, thousands of dollars in cash and drugs, as well as 15 children were found at the homes raided Wednesday

The operation, which was part of a three-year investigation into the violent gang, is the latest step in a multi-agency anti-racketeering case

'This gang is responsible for murders - both of rival gangsters and innocent bystanders - as well as drug dealing and extortion in many communities in the Los Angeles area,' said Acting United States Attorney Sandra R. Brown. 

'With thousands of members here in the Southland, the gang's power is widespread - power which it maintains with severe acts of violence. Today's charges and arrests, however, will deal a critical blow to the top leadership of this criminal organization and will significantly improve safety in neighborhoods across this region.' 

MS-13 has become a primary target of the Justice and Homeland Security departments amid the Trump Administration's broader effort to crack down on illegal immigration and violent crime.

The El Salvadorian criminal enterprise is believed to have a presence in 46 states and is the first and only criminal organization in the US to be named as 'transnational' by the FBI.

The gang was started about 30 years ago in Los Angeles after millions of immigrants from El Salvador came to the US after a violent civil war left more than 100,000 dead.

Major roundups of MS-13 members have taken place across the country since the early 2000s. 

Law enforcement officials say the dozen high-ranking gang members had formed a de facto leadership council for the gang because no one person was willing to take on the top role in the wake of ongoing scrutiny by law enforcement

Hundreds of federal and local law enforcement fanned out across Los Angeles, serving arrest and search warrants

A raid at a storefront along a strip of dilapidated buildings also found at least seven people locked in a room. Police are investigation them as possible human trafficking victims 

One of the locations was a storefront along a strip of dilapidated buildings near downtown

Major roundups of MS-13 members have taken place across the country since the early 2000s 

The operation is the latest step in a multi-agency anti-racketeering case

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