The Region : Police in Gang Crackdown

A Los Angeles police task force rounded up 447 members of a South-Central gang and seized 29 firearms in a monthlong show of force after learning that the gang was trying to arrange the murder of a detective, officials said. Police learned early this year that the gang had “put out a contract to eliminate” a 77th Street Station detective who was investigating a homicide involving the gang, said Cmdr. Frank Piersol of the Police Department’s South Bureau. Police did not name the gang--names are usually withheld to avoid giving them publicity--but Piersol described it as being involved in “numerous vicious murders” and selling narcotics. Another officer, Detective Verne King, said the roundup was intended “to let gang members know they do not own the streets.”