Federal agents this morning dismantled what they said was a local branch of one of the most violent gangs in the country as it was attempting to establish a foothold in the metro area.
Officers from the Metro Gang Task Force arrested nine local members of the Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, gang, which consists primarily of Salvadorans and is rooted in Los Angeles, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said.
The arrests stemmed from two federal grand-jury indictments handed down last month. Agents said three members were arrested in Aurora, three in Denver, one in the Greeley area, one in Brush and one in unincorporated Adams County. One of the indicted was arrested in Los Angeles.
They were indicted on charges of distributing methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and marijuana. Some were indicted for bringing contraband into a California prison.
“These are mobsters without borders who are wreaking havoc on some of our cities,” said FBI Deputy Assistant Director Daniel Roberts, who flew into Denver for the morning raid and an afternoon press conference. “The MS-13 began in Los Angeles and now operates in 42 states, as well as in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and other countries. Stuff that we used for investigating the mobs we now use in tracking this gang.
“What’s different about this gang is that it is truly an international gang. Some gangs, like the Latin Kings, operate in several states. But this gang is more dispersed than any other gang. It’s the only gang that the FBI has designated a special unit for.”
Gang Task Force Commander Paul Swanson of the Aurora Police Department estimated that the gang has 7,000 to 10,000 members in the U.S. and many members in Central America.
Denver FBI agent-in-charge James Davis said “a significant portion” of the gang’s structure in metro Denver was dismantled, estimating it to be in the “70 percent” range. He said he didn’t know how many more gang members are at large in Colorado.
He said an informant told him the gang picked Colorado “because they believed that law enforcement was soft here. This shows them that we are determined not to let them establish a foothold here.”
Five gang members appeared in U.S. District Court this afternoon. The others will appear Wednesday.
Mike McPhee: 303-954-1409 or mmcphee@denverpost.com
