18th Street gang operated ‘open-air’ drug market at LA’s MacArthur Park, feds say

LOS ANGELES () — Federal authorities said they’ve struck a major blow against one of Los Angeles’ most powerful street gangs.

A sweeping investigation targeting the 18th Street gang led to multiple arrests and uncovered what prosecutors describe as a violent criminal enterprise operating in the heart of the city.

“My office is unsealing seven indictments charging 14 defendants with racketeering and drug trafficking offenses stemming from their membership in one of the largest and most violent gangs in the Western Hemisphere,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said at a press conference Thursday.

Federal agents and local police arrested 12 members and associates of the 18th Street gang, a group authorities said has been running a large-scale drug operation centered around MacArthur Park.

“The 18th Street gang is a transnational criminal organization that controls the rampant drug trafficking in multiple areas of Los Angeles, including MacArthur Park, parts of Hollywood, downtown and the San Fernando Valley,” Essayli said.

Prosecutors allege the gang transformed the park into an “open-air drug marketplace,” using tents among the homeless population to conceal narcotics sales and avoid law enforcement detection.

“Since January of 2023, the LAPD’s Gang and Narcotics Division, working with the FBI Gang Task Force, conducted a comprehensive investigation into the gang’s leadership and narcotics distribution network,” Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell said.

During the investigation, authorities seized more than 175 pounds of methamphetamine and fentanyl, along with cash, firearms and additional drugs.

“Evidence was collected highlighting the free flow of narcotics between distributors in the areas of MacArthur Park and Skid Row,” said Robert Molvar, acting assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “These drugs were being taxed through extortion payments known as rents by high-ranking members of the gang for continued permission to operate in their territory.”

According to the indictment, the 18th Street gang has more than 100,000 members in the U.S. and also operates in Mexico, Central America and South America.