29 arrested in Las Vegas, Mesquite gang sweep

By Mary Manning

Friday, Aug. 7, 2009 | 3 p.m.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said 29 arrests were made this week in Las Vegas and Mesquite for gang activity.

The arrests were conducted over a three-day period and netted gang members and gang associates, authorities said.

Two of the gang members were arrested during a sweep that began early Tuesday and are facing federal criminal prosecution for re-entry into the United States after deportation. The others are foreign nationals who are being processed for deportation.

The group taken into custody includes a Salvadoran national with ties to the notorious MS-13 gang, a citizen of Afghanistan and a citizen of the Bahamas. The others are citizens of Mexico.

Joining ICE in the operation were officers from Metro Police, Mesquite Police, the Nevada Department of Public Safety, the Division of Parole and Probation and Division of Investigation.

The arrests were made as part of an ongoing initiative by ICE's National Gang Unit called "Operation Community Shield." As part of the initiative, ICE partners with other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies across the country to target public safety threats posed by transnational street gangs.

"Street gangs pose a growing public safety threat to communities throughout this area," said Robert Schoch, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations that oversees the agency's activities in the Las Vegas area. "The violence and crime associated with these gangs has reached intolerable levels. ICE is working with its law enforcement partners here, and across the country, to attack and dismantle these criminal organizations."

The foreign national gang members and gang associates who were arrested on administrative immigration violations have been placed in removal proceedings. They are being held in ICE custody and scheduled for deportation hearings before an immigration judge.

Most of the individuals arrested during the sweep have criminal histories, including prior convictions for drug trafficking, weapons possession, kidnapping with a deadly weapon, home invasion, battery with a deadly weapon, coercing children with intent to engage in sexual conduct, grand larceny and theft.

Luis Morales-Villapuda, 38, a Mexican national previously convicted of drug trafficking, has been criminally charged with re-entering the United States after deportation, a federal crime that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Since Operation Community Shield began in February 2005, ICE agents nationwide have arrested more than 14,000 gang members and associates linked to more than 900 different gangs.

To report suspicious activity, call ICE's 24-hour toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423, or visit www.ice.gov.