Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011 | 7:32 p.m.
Two alleged gang members in Las Vegas were indicted on drug charges as part of a national campaign against street gangs by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Justic Department unsealed indictments or criminal complaints against 41 people across the country Wednesday. So far, 29 people have been arrested, but it wasn’t clear if the Las Vegas suspects were in custody.
In the Las Vegas case, authorities charged two alleged members of the Sureno 13 and San Chucos gangs with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine.
The nationwide effort involved cases involving various alleged illegal activities, including murder, racketeering, narcotics, robbery and gun trafficking, officials said.
“Gangs threaten the safety and stability of neighborhoods across our nation,” Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the department’s Criminal Division said in a statement.
“Gangs spread fear in our communities, trading in guns, drugs, and violence, and they cause too many young people to choose lives of crime,” Breuer said. “The Justice Department is fighting back, against both local street gangs and large organized criminal enterprises with international reach.”
The FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials were involved in the cases announced today.
The charges are the latest in an ongoing effort against gangs, officials said. So far this month, 112 defendants have been arrested, charged, pleaded guilty, or were sentenced as part of the effort, officials said.
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