CNN.com
LOS ANGELES — Authorities have arrested three dozen people in a sweeping operation targeting suspected members of a California drug-trafficking gang and its associates, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.
“Working together, federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies here struck a blow against a major drug trafficking network,” U.S. Attorney Wagner said Tuesday. “We will continue to work side by side in our efforts to dismantle violent criminal gangs.”
Wagner said among the suspects arrested by state, local, and federal agents were 24 members and associates of the Nuestra Familia (Our Family) organization. Twenty were charged with one count of drug distribution conspiracy. The maximum penalty is life in prison and a $4,000,000 fine.
The six-month operation involved the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and state and local law enforcement. The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, the U.S.Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Marshals Service also assisted in the case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
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