Skip to main content

Suspected gang members arrested in North Carolina

  • Story Highlights
  • Federal agents nab 26 suspected members of MS-13 gang
  • Officials: Arrests stem from a 55-count indictment by grand jury in Charlotte
  • Authorities carry out related raids on alleged MS-13 gang leaders in El Salvador
  • Drug and weapons violations among charges in indictment
  • Next Article in Crime »
From Terry Frieden
CNN Justice Producer
Decrease font Decrease font
Enlarge font Enlarge font

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Federal agents arrested 26 suspected members of the violent MS-13 gang Tuesday in North Carolina, while Salvadoran authorities carried out related raids on alleged gang leaders in El Salvador, federal law enforcement sources said.

Police arrest a suspected MS-13 member during an April operation targeting the gang in El Salvador.

Police arrest a suspected MS-13 member during an April operation targeting the gang in El Salvador.

U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey and senior FBI and Salvadoran law enforcement officials were to announce results of the operations at a press conference Tuesday in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Federal law enforcement sources said the arrests stem from a 55-count indictment returned by a grand jury in Charlotte.

Drug and weapons violations are among the charges in the indictment.

MS-13 reportedly is one of the fastest growing and most violent gangs in the United States.

The FBI estimates MS-13 has about 10,000 members in the country, along with tens of thousands in Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador, where the gang originated in the late 1980s.

All About Federal Bureau of InvestigationEl Salvador

  • E-mail
  • Save
  • Print