Thread: Agents Swarm Newburgh in Raid Against Gangs

Agents Swarm Newburgh in Raid Against Gangs

By RAY RIVERA
Published: May 13, 2010

NEWBURGH, N.Y. — The authorities raided dozens of homes here early on Thursday in a major show of force against the Bloods and the Latin Kings street gangs, whose members have wreaked havoc in this small, troubled city along the Hudson River.

More than 300 officers and agents with the F.B.I.; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and the local and state police began gathering before dawn in a former National Guard armory here. By 6 a.m., heavily armed F.B.I. SWAT teams were breaking through doors across this city about an hour north of Manhattan.

“Nothing this size has been tried with this many agents in the region,â€

F.B.I. Press Release

MAJOR GANG TAKEDOWN

78 Bloods, Latin Kings Indicted

05/13/10

In the pre-dawn chill of Newburgh, New York, nearly 600 local, state, and federal law enforcement officers assembled at the armory this morning to prepare for one of the area's largest gang takedowns in recent memory.

Indictments were unsealed against 78 members of two violent street gangs—the Bloods and the Latin Kings—and many of the unsuspecting gang members were about to wake up to SWAT teams, handcuffs, and a variety of federal drug charges.

FBI agents and law enforcement from numerous agencies attend a 5 a.m. pre-operation briefing.

“There are a number of neighborhood gangs in Newburgh, but these two national gangs are responsible for much of the drugs and crime in the city,â€