UPDATE: We have received the official press release regarding this multi-agency gang sweep. It is posted at the end of this article.
Pre-dawn raids at about 75 locations throughout the county Tuesday were the culmination of a multi-agency investigation called “Operation Smokin’ Aces” taking aim at the Mexican Mafia, a notorious prison gang known for its grip on local street gangs, particularly in Santa Ana, authorities said, according to the O.C. Register.
Authorities said it involved dozens of arrests and search warrants that were served throughout Santa Ana neighborhoods. More than 800 officers, deputies and agents of the Santa Ana police; Orange County Sheriff’s Department; FBI; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and U.S. Marshals took part in the investigation and the arrest warrants that were served before sunrise. The arrests were coordinated simultaneously. Continue reading
A chill must have gone up failed Santa Ana Mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua’s spine this morning when he cracked open the newspaper and found out that “Federal and state authorities charged 99 alleged Orange County gang members with crimes including murder, drug trafficking and extortion, at least half or whom were associated with the Mexican Mafia prison gang,” according to NPR. Continue reading