They arrest 116 people linked to different gangs such as Latin Kings and “salvatruchas” in New York

A major police raid on Long Island, a region ravaged by criminal gang violence in eastern New York, has resulted in 116 criminals being arrested, nearly half of whom belonged to groups such as MS-13 or the Latin Kings, authorities reported this Thursday.

The operation, called “Long Island Wave” and launched at the beginning of this month, it has lasted almost two weeks and mobilized some 200 agents from a dozen police forces, the commander of the federal sheriff’s service, Ed McMahon, told the local media at a press conference. /p>

The authorities have carried out the raid before the arrival of summer, which is usually accompanied by an upturn in crime, and have searched for fugitives on whom arrest warrants were issued for crimes of homicide, attempted murder, drug trafficking, possession of weapons or robbery, reports channel ABC7.

Among those detained, 69 belonged to a gang, including MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha ), the Latin Kings, the Crips and the Bloods, who for years have terrorized the residents of Long Island with cross-violence between their groups or against the residents of the area, many of them young and even minors .

McMahon, speaking to local radio 10 10Wins, he stressed. the need to “take off the streets” They quickly target gang members who are wanted for crimes like robbery, “because maybe the next week they cause a shooting at a rival gang’s family barbecue.”