Feds Round Up L.A. Gangs : 160 Crips, Bloods Street Thugs Seized in U.S. Sweep : Members of Gangs Now in 73 Cities

Federal agents arrested more than 160 members of the Los Angeles-based Crips and Bloods street gangs during a novel two-day nationwide sweep, authorities announced today.

In what they dubbed “Operation Streetsweep,” agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms seized an unspecified amount of drugs, guns and cash. The operation, which involved the use of military airplanes, began early Thursday and will not end until later tonight, Special Agent Andrew Vita told a Los Angeles press conference.

Vita said 135 gang members were arrested in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties. Other arrests were scattered across Northern California and 10 other states, including Louisiana, Oregon, Arizona, Missouri, Oklahoma and Washington.

Officials said the sweep was prompted by the budding migration of Los Angeles street gang operations into other corners of the country. Members of Crips, Bloods and other L.A. street gangs have been identified in 73 cities across the country; their main pursuit appears to be expansion of narcotics markets.

Another motivation for the federal sweep was that federal sentencing laws generally are tougher than local statutes. Also, the operation was seen as carrying symbolic weight--both for gang members and their victims.

“We’re trying to show that the gang problem is not just limited to Los Angeles,” said Vita, speaking on the steps of the Naval Training Center. “It’s a nationwide problem, and we believe the federal government can have some impact.”

Added Stephen E. Higgins, director of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms: “What began as a Los Angeles problem has now spread to a national one. This is a significant step to our commitment attacking drugs” and was “intended to send a message to violent street gangs.”

The Air Force supplied transport planes to ferry federal agents to points across the country to make arrests.

ATF agents said the gang members were arrested on a variety of federal gun and drug charges. Most were arraigned early today in U.S. District Court. Another 100 are expected to be arrested today.

“We managed to get about 75% to 80% of those we were looking for,” Vita said. “We hope to get the rest soon.”

Higgins said such crackdowns would continue for an undetermined period of time.

“This is just the beginning,” he said. “We don’t plan to stop here. We want to send a message to these guys that, if they are selling drugs, we plan to keep working them.”

The largest narcotics seizure was nearly 13 pounds of cocaine, worth $250,000, in Shreveport, La. In Portland, Ore., 14 people were arrested and more than 100 others were being sought on federal or state warrants for mostly drug and gun charges.

“Every place we hit in Los Angeles had crack,” Vita said, adding the arrests were carried out “without incident.”