Eight members of the MS-13 gang were arrested Tuesday in Colorado and California, and police are searching for another four people.

Eight members of the MS-13 gang were arrested Tuesday in Colorado and California, and police are searching for another four people. In addition, seven people were already in custody before Tuesday, and one has been deported."We wanted to get it at the front end and try and stop it before they got the good foothold," said Deputy Denver Police Chief Michael Battista. "I think by taking down these individuals in communities in the Denver metro area, we did accomplish that."It will have an impact on slowing their growth, if not stopping it in Colorado."The gang migrated from Los Angeles in an attempt to expand its drug trafficking activities, said David Gaouette, acting United States Attorney for the District of Colorado.MS-13 members specifically targeted Denver because they believed law enforcement here was "soft," said James Davis, special agent in charge of the FBI in Denver."They thought they had an opportunity here to take hold and expand," Davis said. "I think that this investigation proves that that's not the case. This investigation takes out a significant portion of that gang structure here in Denver." Members of Mara Salvatrucha, MS-13, are mostly Salvadoran nationals and first-generation Salvadoran-Americans. They also include Hondurans, Guatemalans, Mexicans and other Central and South American immigrants Mara is gang, Salva refers to El Salvador, and Trucha means, "look out or beware." The number 13 is homage to the letter M, 13th letter in the alphabet, and signifies the Mexican Mafia. Membership: 7,000 to 10,000 members in at least 42 states and the District of Columbia

Criminal activity: Drug distribution, murder, rape, prostitution, robbery, home invasions, immigration offenses, kidnapping, carjackings/auto thefts and vandalism. Most of these crimes are exceedingly violent

A multi-agency gang task force began investigating MS-13 in 2006. In addition to obtaining indictments against 20 people, authorities seized 10 pounds of methamphetamine, 2.3 kilograms of cocaine, 124 grams of heroin, 12 firearms and $3,300 in cash.The drugs were distributed on the streets of metro Denver as well as in the High Desert State Prison in California, officials said.MS-13, which formed in Los Angeles and consists mainly of Salvadoran nationals and first generation Salvadoran-Americans, has an international reach, with 7,000 to 10,000 members in the United States.

"MS-13 has no place in our cities," said Daniel Roberts, the FBI's Deputy Assistant Director in Washington, D.C.

The FBI and law enforcement officials in Los Angeles have partnered with the El Salvadoran National Police and with police in cities and states across the country to "root out gangs wherever we can," Roberts said. Officials are applying the same techniques they've used for years in mob investigations.
"The MS-13 is really mobsters without borders," he said. "They really are wreaking havoc in several different countries in Latin America as well as in the United States."Authorities in the Denver-area investigation targeted the gang's leadership and also snared associates and drug suppliers.Those arrested face charges that include conspiracy to distribute illicit drugs and possession with the intent to distribute. Among those arrested were Gerardo Lopez, 31, of Denver, and Jose Garcia-Sanchez, 26, of Aurora, who are believed to be gang leaders.
If convicted on the drug distribution charges, the gang members could face 20 years to life in prison."This gang, at least in this particular area, was in its infancy," Gaouette said. "If you take out 20 members of a gang that is just getting started here, I think you can certainly say we put a dent in it."Perhaps the headquarters, if you will, of the gang, will not send any more members to Denver."