Los Angeles County, California – Federal authorities have charged 20 alleged members and associates of the Puente-13 street gang, accusing them of running a wide-ranging criminal operation involving drug trafficking, illegal gun sales, shootings, and a violent kidnapping, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The charges were announced Wednesday following a large, coordinated law-enforcement operation across Southern California that officials say significantly weakened one of the San Gabriel Valley’s most notorious gangs.
Federal Operation Targets Puente-13 Network
The investigation, led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Los Angeles Field Division, involved multiple agencies, including the Covina Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Authorities executed 17 federal and state search warrants simultaneously across Los Angeles County and two neighboring Southern California counties as part of an enforcement effort known as Operation Burning Bridges…