MS-13 gang members arrested in LA

LOS ANGELES, June 24 (UPI) -- U.S. officials in Los Angeles said Wednesday they arrested two dozen members and associates of the MS-13 gang for crimes ranging from murder to extortion.

The Mara Salvatrucha gang, commonly called MS-13, was founded in Los Angeles but has spread to Central America and parts Canada.

An October racketeering indictment unsealed Wednesday said the crimes stretched back 15 years. Officials said the arrests followed a three-year investigation, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The 16-count indictment listed a variety of racketeering counts, including the charge that gang members conspired to kill Frank Flores, a veteran Los Angeles Police Department anti-gang officer.

Named on the indictment was Alex Sanchez, executive director of the anti-gang Homies Unidos, for allegedly conspiring to commit a 2006 murder separate from the alleged conspiracy that targeted Flores. The Times said Sanchez is a nationally known anti-gang leader involved in outreach efforts to gang members.

The gang allegedly killed seven people and conspired to kill eight, Assistant Chief U.S. Attorney George Cardona said in a news conference. The official said Sanchez was a leader in an MS-13 clique.

The indictment said MS-13 was formed in the mid-1980s by immigrants fleeing the civil war in El Salvador.