A multi-agency gang sweep in the Santa Maria Valley netted 25 arrests and should serve as a message that “we’ve had enough,” authorities said this morning.
The arrests marked the debut for an FBI-led task force working on the Central Coast in conjunction with local police officers and sheriff’s deputies to target criminal activity affiliated with gangs.
The Northwest gang, which has operated for decades in Santa Maria, was the target of the law enforcement action.
This morning’s effort involved 75 law enforcement officers and 11 defendants who were arrested on federal and state charges. They are among 25 people arrested recently in relation to criminal activity.
Federal prosecutors have charged 17 people related to the Northwest gang — several of whom face potential life sentences in federal prison.
Santa Barbara County prosecutors have charged the remaining eight defendants.
Most of the arrests involved Santa Maria residents, although a man from Oceano and Nipomo also were swept up.
Six people are still wanted by authorities.
The enforcement effort arose from the FBI’s Central Coast Safe Streets Task Force, which worked in conjunction with the Santa Maria Police Department, Sheriff’s Departments in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, the FBI and other agencies.
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