34 Arrested in Gang Crackdown in Minnesota

KARE-TV Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- Thirty four people were arrested by immigration agents in Minnesota in the last week as part of an effort to curb "transnational street gangs."

The alleged gang members are from Mexico, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Somalia U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents say. Of the 34 arrested, 30 are alleged to be illegal aliens connected to gangs including "Sureño-13, Vatos Locos, Rough Tough Somali Crips, and the Mexican Mafia" a news release from immigration officers says.

"Street gangs pose a growing public safety threat to communities throughout this area," special agent in charge Claude Arnold said. "We will not tolerate violent gang activity in our cities, and will use all of our law enforcement tools to thwart criminal efforts of gangs.

The arrests happened in the "Twin Cities metropolitan area, and also included arrests in Albany, Willmar and Worthington, Minnesota."

The arrests involved the "U.S. Secret Service; the Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service; the FBI; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension; and the Metro Gang Strike Force."

The sweep is part of a larger, national crackdown called Operation Community Shield which immigration says has led to the arrests of 6,500 people from some 500 gangs. The news release says immigration agents have arrested more than 100 people in Minnesota since Operation Community Shield began in 2005.

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