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GANG ARRESTS NET 15 IN OAKLAND, RICHMOND AND SF
03/10/06 12:45 PST

Fifteen men with ties to violent gangs were arrested in a multi-agency operation in Oakland, Richmond and San Francisco between late February and early March, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Agent Jennifer Holman said today.

The arrests were part of Operation Community Shield, an ongoing investigation into gang activity that has netted 2,388 arrests of people with connections to 239 different gangs nationwide since its inception in February 2005, according to ICE.

More than 70 of the arrests so far have been in the Bay Area.

Almost all the 15 men detained in the Bay Area in the most recent string of arrests have criminal records with convictions for assault with a firearm, drug violations and domestic violence, according to ICE.

At least one man is believed to belong to the notorious El Salvadorean gang MS-13, while others are members of the Norteno, Sureno and Sur-13 gangs, Holman said.

MS-13 is recognized among law enforcement officials as one of the most violent gangs operating in the United States.

Three of the men arrested were U.S. citizens and the remainder foreign nationals in the United States illegally, one from El Salvador and 11 from Mexico.

The youngest is 19 and some of the men are in their early 40s, but "most of them are in their 20s,'' Holman said.

Some of the men have "extensive criminal histories'' with records including narcotics and firearms charges, Holman said.

"Street gangs pose a growing public safety threat to communities throughout this area,'' Charles DeMore, special agent in charge for ICE investigations in San Francisco, said in a statement.

Richmond police Lt. Mark Gagan said the criminal activity among many gangs includes both trafficking in drugs and prostitution. Both are extremely lucrative, he said.

ICE will continue Operation Community Shield, according to Holman.