Federal authorities say they have busted up a massive criminal enterprise responsible for much of the gang-related street violence in parts of the Bay Area.
Fifty-five defendants face charges linked to alleged gang activity involving, among other things, drug trafficking, violence and murder. Gang leaders allegedly ran the operation from inside California state prisons, and many of the defendants were members of or affiliated with Nuestra Familia, according to officials. Other gangs linked to the operation include San Jose Grande and El Hoyo Palmas.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office and San Jose Police Department worked together on the five-year investigation culminating in Wednesday's bust, according to FBI Special Agent In Charge Craig Fair.
"The takedown conducted yesterday, 'Operation Quiet Storm,' was one of the largest gang takedowns in FBI San Francisco division's history," Fair said in a press conference Thursday, claiming the gangs targeted were also responsible for "much of the illicit drug distribution" and "violent crime" in the South Bay, Salinas and Central Valley.
Nuestra Familia gang leaders allegedly called the shots for thousands of members from inside state prison cells, according to the indictments unsealed on Thursday, leading to violence and terror on the streets. Stephanie Hinds, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California said 36 defendants who were already incarcerated have since moved to federal facilities.
"By disrupting gang leadership, we take aim at the head of the snake," Hinds said in Thursday's press conference, "and seek to reduce violence and other criminal activity on our streets, and in our jails and prisons."
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