Operation nets key figures accused of running drug and extortion rackets under orders linked to the Mexican Mafia.
Before dawn broke over the Los Angeles Harbor, hundreds of cops and feds moved in on Tuesday—serving arrest and search warrants on the Rancho San Pedro gang, one of the most feared gangs in the harbor’s underbelly, according to the FBI.
The raid capped a long, grinding investigation by the FBI, LAPD, and Homeland Security that traced the crew’s bloody fingerprints across years of violence and crime on the waterfront.
Agents hauled in eight of fourteen suspects named in a federal complaint, along with five others facing state charges from the L.A. County D.A. Teams also hit the streets, executing nine federal and eight state search warrants across San Pedro.
“I’m proud of the years of hard work that went into this case by investigators at the federal and local level to target the upper echelon of this extremely violent gang,” said Akil Davis, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “(Tuesday’s) actions will cause a significant setback to Rancho San Pedro and their Mexican Mafia overlords and lead to safer streets for San Pedro residents.”
The RICO crew ran the Rancho San Pedro enterprise from both the streets and the prison yard. Some members took orders straight from the Mexican Mafia—collecting “taxes,” moving drugs and guns, and deciding who ran what on the outside.
Others kept the outfit’s grip on the harbor through violence—robbery, extortion, and drug deals that kept the cash flowing. The muscle carried or ordered up guns to enforce control, settle scores, and push RSP’s reach through murder, assault, and fear.