Southern California crackdown nets 43 indictments against Mexican Mafia

Federal authorities arrested more than two dozen members and associates of the Mexican Mafia in a Southern California crackdown, with 43 people indicted on charges including murder, kidnapping, extortion, illegal gambling, and drug trafficking. Authorities seized about 120 pounds (54 kg) of meth and more than 8 pounds (over 4 kg) of fentanyl, along with 25 firearms and $30,000. An incarcerated leader allegedly ran the operation via contraband cellphones from June 2024 to April this year, directing kidnappings, assaults and street‑level drug trafficking and providing security for illegal gambling; a murder at a motel in Anaheim is also tied to the case. Defendants are set to appear in federal court in Los Angeles and Orange counties.