Federal authorities targeted a violent South LA gang with arrests, indictments and weapons seizures. More than two dozen gang leaders are now in custody. Gordon Tokumatsu reports from South Los Angeles for the NBC4 News at 6 p.m. on Aug. 29, 2013.
Some 35 members and associates of one of LA's most notorious street gangs were arrested in connection with a federal drug conspiracy during a series of early-morning raids, officials said.
Dubbed "Operation Thumbs Down," some 800 agents and local law enforcement targeted high-level members -- or "shotcallers" -- from the Rollin' 30s Harlem Crips, a gang believed to be involved in gun and drug dealing and other violence in a 1.5 square-mile area in South LA, the FBI said.
During the raid, agents seized 32 guns and more than 10 kilograms of rock cocaine.
"Thumbs Down" is a play on the thumbs-up hand gestures the gang members use.
In a five-year period, police said there have been 29 homicides in the gang's turf. Police also recorded 1,100 robberies and 1,075 assaults in the same period.
Police also suspect some of its members in a series of “knock-knock” burglaries in which they break into homes if no one inside answers the door.
The Rollin 30s Crips is a multi-generational gang with up to 1,000 members, the FBI said.
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