LA's top federal prosecutor discusses arrest of more than 40 Mexican Mafia members, associates
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- More than 40 members and associates of the Mexican Mafia were arrested last week during an early morning crackdown across Southern California.
The FBI and other federal and local agencies executed search and arrest warrants at about 30 locations mostly in Orange County, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli on Wednesday discussed the arrests in an interview with ABC7.
Essayli noted that the Mexican Mafia is "a very unique organization. They have very few members; all the members are in prison, they're incarcerated, and they exert a tremendous amount of control over street gangs, Hispanic street gangs -- also known as 'associates.' So one member, literally locked up in a California prison, can control entire counties and large areas of gangs.
"That's what was happening here," Essayli said. "One person inside of California state prison was controlling all the Latino gangs in Orange County -- Santa Ana, Tustin, Anaheim -- engaged in sweeping amounts of criminal activities."
A total of 43 people, including those already in custody, have been indicted on charges that include murder, kidnapping, extortion, running an illegal gambling operation and drug trafficking, prosecutors said.
Officers seized 120 pounds of methamphetamine, more than eight pounds of fentanyl, along with 25 firearms and more than $30,000 in cash, officials said.
The Mexican Mafia was started in the 1950s at a juvenile jail and grew to an international criminal organization that controls smuggling, drug sales and extortion from inside California's penal system.
More than 40 Mexican mafia members and associates arrested in SoCal federal raid
The indictment alleges one leader who was incarcerated used contraband cellphones to oversee the Mexican Mafia's criminal activities from his state prison cell from June 2024 to April 2026. He directed street gang members to kidnap and assault people, according to court documents.
"He's in on a murder charge, so he's in for a long time," Essayli told ABC7. "But this is a lifestyle for them. They're in this gang culture, they get taxes paid to them, they get money for themselves, money for their family, and most importantly, they have a lot of power" in the prison system.
The gang also allegedly sold drugs including fentanyl, meth, heroin and cocaine.
"What this operation did was: We were targeting all those people on the outside that were taking his orders and were actually carrying out his criminal activity at his direction," Essayli said.
The gang is also suspected of a murder at a "gang-controlled" motel in Anaheim, according to the indictment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
