California IN BRIEF : SAN JOSE : Raids Target Crime in Silicon Valley

More than 500 law enforcement officers carried out a huge sweep in the Silicon Valley on Wednesday, arresting 44 people suspected of being involved in a rash of high-tech robberies, police said. San Jose police officers and agents from the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the IRS took part in a series of searches and arrests, officials said. It marked the culmination of an 18-month joint investigation, dubbed “West Chips,” aimed at reducing violent crimes against the high-tech industry. The FBI said the investigation targeted four gangs that have been involved in armed takeover robberies at high-tech warehouses, kidnapping of high-tech industry executives, theft of computer chips and drug trafficking.