Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
SAN DIEGO – Four federal grand jury indictments charge 42 alleged members and associates of various San Diego County street gangs, including an increasingly violent and sophisticated Poway gang called Varrio Hidden Hills, with distributing large amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl. In a coordinated takedown on Wednesday and Thursday, hundreds of FBI agents, members of the North County Regional Gang Task Force and federal, state, and local law enforcement officials arrested 35 defendants and executed 10 search warrants on homes and vehicles in Poway, Lemon Grove, San Diego, National City, Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, El Cajon, Oceanside, Escondido, Vista, Temecula, Murrieta, Riverside, and Tulare. As of 2:30 p.m. today, seven defendants were still being sought. Authorities seized drugs, guns, ammunition and cash during the takedown and throughout the two-year investigation.