Gang investigation nets 25 arrests in sweep
Gang investigation nets 25 arrests in sweep

By Randy Ellis

Published: December 15, 2007

More than 100 law enforcement officers fanned out across Oklahoma City and Altus Thursday, arresting 25 Hispanic gang members and their affiliates on a variety of drug trafficking charges.

In addition to drug trafficking, gang members may have been involved in passing counterfeit money a couple years ago at "nightclubs in Bricktown,” documents reveal.

Thursday's law enforcement sweep originally was scheduled for Tuesday, but was delayed for two days because of problems created by the ice storm, John C. Richter, U.S. Attorney in Oklahoma City, said at a news conference Friday.

Several federal, state and local law enforcement agencies participated in the sweep, which began at 6:30 a.m. Thursday.

"We will continue to coordinate our efforts and to use all available law enforcement tools to incapacitate and dismantle violent gangs and drug trafficking organizations,” Richter said.

Authorities Friday said they still were attempting to serve arrest warrants against two other individuals — Adrian Ismael Soltero, 32, and Julie Trejo, 18, both of southwest Oklahoma City. Anyone with knowledge of their whereabouts should contact the FBI at 290-7770, said Gary Johnson, FBI spokesman. Callers can remain anonymous, he said.

What is the target?

The two-year investigation targeted members of the Southside Locos, East Side Vario Segundo, Grand Barrio Centrale and 98 Main Street Mafia Crip gangs who were allegedly involved in the distribution of large amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana in Oklahoma City and southwestern Oklahoma.

Nineteen of the individuals are charged with federal drug trafficking crimes that would carry penalties upon conviction of either 5 to 40 years or 10 to life in prison. The others are charged with state drug crimes.

Thursday's arrests are part of a continuing federal, state and local crackdown on gang activity in Oklahoma that began two years ago and so far has resulted in about 300 arrests, Oklahoma City Police Chief Bill Citty said. The criminal allegations released Friday consisted of a variety of drug trafficking charges, but sworn affidavits indicated some of the arrested individuals may also have violated counterfeiting laws.

Secret Service to investigate

In January 2006, a confidential witness reported that he was handed a $100 bill by one of the drug suspects and was told that another suspect had just finished making the bill and had "dropped off some samples.”

"The confidential witness said there had been a lot of counterfeit money passed in the nightclubs in Bricktown,” an FBI agent said in a sworn affidavit. "The confidential witness also overheard conversations about the currency being printed to finance a major purchase of drugs from subjects in Mexico.”

The $100 bill was turned over to the United States Secret Service for further investigation.

Richter declined to elaborate on the status of the counterfeiting investigation, but noted that Thursday's arrests were part of a continuing long-term investigation of gang activity.

While the recent arrests focused on Hispanic gangs, they were not linked to a new state law designed to crack down on illegal immigration, authorities said.

During initial booking procedures, all but one of the individuals arrested appeared to be U.S. citizens, officials said.

Richter praised the FBI, Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control, Oklahoma City Police Department, Oklahoma County sheriff's office, a southwestern and central Oklahoma drug task force, the Internal Revenue Service, the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and district attorneys John Wampler and David Prater for their assistance in the investigation.