SacBee: WHITTIER, CALIF. Authorities on Tuesday arrested 31 reputed members and associates of a Los Angeles-area street gang accused of being involved in drug dealing, credit card fraud, the murder of a rival and an attack on an undercover police officer.
Three arrests were made in Northern California and Arizona and the rest were in the Los Angeles area. About 400 federal, state and local agents took part in the arrests, which were based on a federal grand jury indictment issued last week, prosecutors said.
The arrests capped a three-year investigation of the Canta Ranas gang, Spanish for “Singing Frogs,” which has about 140 members based mainly in Whittier and Santa Fe Springs east of Los Angeles, authorities said.
The gang is one of many that take orders from a prison gang, the Mexican Mafia, that regulates drug-dealing territories and protects imprisoned street gang members in exchange for receiving a portion of criminal proceeds in the form of “taxes” or “rent,” according to the indictment.
wondering if the rest of you have a similar reaction to “murder of a rival”
wgaf
Yep, this guy deserves fifteen dollars an hour…
Lah Rahza….holmes.
That solved .001% of the problem.
400 officers to nab 31 people? They need 8 supervisors at every arrest?
While I’m certainly glad to see gang members arrested, know that it’s not easy growing up in gang territory. I worked on an Eagle Scout project on Saturday in the heart of L.A. gang territory. The troop is run by a friend who lives nowhere near there but wanted to do something to keep kids away from gangs. It is a very difficult life, and easy to get caught up in a gang – often necessary for your survival or your family’s.
Like most of you I think the conservative platform lends the best opportunity for those who haven’t joined a gang. But in gangland, as in many places in the world, becoming a bad guy often looks like the best way to survive.
LCD. You got out alive. Impressed.
If they weren’t all executed upon capture it was a waste of resources and time.
I was born and raised in California and it was once an actual paradise. Now it’s a cesspool and I’m thrilled I got out. I worked in Whittier and it wasn’t that bad 10 years ago. I say legalize drugs, tax it and put this dipshits out of business. As for $15 an hour, that retard couldn’t even remember to put a friggin straw in my to-go bag. California is drowning faster than an earthquake can drop it in the Pacific. Still have family there and it makes me sick to my heart.
Gwenn, while you were gone pot was legalized here.
The problems have gotten far worse as a result. The cartels now grow it here and operate openly without fear of jail or confiscation.
I left Whittier in 1993 when the rats were just starting to multiply.
Not being able to have a gun to protect yourself outside of your home in that state is nuts.
I wish my wife’s family would get a clue and make tracks for safety.
John, I’m talking true retail, employer based, job creation sales. Like selling it at Walgreens and 7/11’s. Throw in meth, heroin and cocaine too. Prices are driven down by competition, quality improves and these shit heads are out of business.
Gwenn, look into the countries where that has been tried, like Mexico, and get back to me with the one you want us to be like.
Legalize drugs?
Let’s see, surely druggies will all get jobs and not resort to crime since the government is now in charge.
Dumb fucking idea.
You realize, don’t you, that if nothing were illegal that there would be no crime?
Loco! You have discovered the road to utopia!
Legalize everything!
No money wasted on jails, courts, police, lawyers, security guards…
Why has no one thought of this?
John, first of all marijuana is not legal in California. Possession of less than one ounce is a civil infraction, similar to a speeding ticket. Anything over one ounce is still a criminal offense and if you add possession with intent to sell, you may possibly be looking at a serious felony. Medical Marijuana is legal and they are handling it just fine…no problems. Legalizing something and selling it on the open market does not necessarily mean an increase in sales or users. I actually lived in Azusa, California, raised my white minority children there and know plenty about gang thugs. I must admit, your use of the word “Cartels” made me chuckle because that implied to me that you must over estimate the skill level and business savvy of idiots like the cretin pictured on this thread. I can buy any drug, at anytime, on any corner of this country. Legalizing it cuts out the criminal element, therefore making it a safer commodity..kind of like alcohol in the 20’s.
You could even put me in charge and I could do a better job of ANYTHING Mexico does.
Why would anyone think that if drugs were legalized, the government would have anymore control than any other commodity. Does the government own Jack Daniels or Winston? And don’t respond with regulations and taxes…that’s a given for everything. And I must say that if drugs were privatized and marketed by corporations [ Bristol, Merck, etc] I sincerely doubt druggies would have the jobs. That’s as ridiculous as saying only alcoholics sell liquor.
It’s OK…don’t be afraid.
Ah yes, the old alcohol = drugs equivalence argument.
Naive, illogical, libertarian utopia.
I am fine with states to try and fail in this experiment.
I won’t live in one.
Drugs are being legalized, or decriminimalized, in many Western societies with success. Portugal, Switzerland, Canada, Uruguay. Question skeptically, by all means, but recognize success when you see it. Drug use is largely driven by gangs because it is profitable, and with social isolation users don’t have access to resources that could help them.
Look up Harry Anslinger, and check out this story which is just one of many: http://thetyee.ca/News/2014/10/03/Vancouver-Seattle-War-on-Drugs/
Thanks, Dan… Great read. Naive, no. Illogical, no. Libertarian utopia……no, just common sense. Holland has had legalized drugs and prostitution for years and it’s realistically regulated, safe and profitable. For conservatives who want the government out of their business, some here sound like the morality police and want to argue against sound examples and facts. Not forcing anyone to agree with me…just running my mouth. I’m out . Have a great evening, guys.
Sorry, don’t want to live in Charles Manson Helter Skelter land.
You can have it.
Good luck with that.
Loco, the thing is that what you imagine is simply not what happens. Vietnam is the best example, as many, many servicemen got hooked on Heroin. Why not? You don’t know whether you’re going to survive, you aren’t near the ones you care about, and your day careens from hours of boredom to moments of terror. Yet when they returned home more than 90% just stopped. Why? They didn’t need drugs, because they had connections again. Drug use covers all strata of society. The key to stopping it is personal connections, not creating a system where people are rewarded financially for getting people addicted and where addicts have no recourse.
LCD, you honestly think that today’s snowflakes can handle personal responsibility?