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Federal bust nets high-powered assault weapons from Bell Gardens gang [CA - drugs also involved!]
SoCal Public Radio ^ | 9-25-09 | Frank Stoltze & Jason Kandel | KPCC Wire Services

Posted on 09/29/2009 7:59:54 PM PDT by smokingfrog

Agents arrested nine men Thursday following a nine-month investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that targeted the "Barrio Evil 13" street gang, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Agents served search warrants at homes in Bell Gardens and Los Angeles, and at a Bell Gardens warehouse used by the gang to store illegal weapons, according to ICE.

During the searches, agents recovered dozens of high-powered weapons, including assault rifles, handguns, silencers, a shotgun and thousands of rounds of ammunition, ICE reported.

Among the suspects was Henry "Silent" Valenzuela, 27, of Bell Gardens, who allegedly told an ICE undercover investigator that he is a hit man for a Tijuana-based drug cartel.

Valenzuela allegedly tried to recruit the undercover investigator to carry out "hits" in the Los Angeles area for a $10,000 fee, and allegedly claimed to have conducted one such murder in Barstow early this month. Authorities said they have not corroborated Valenzuela's murder claim.

Valenzuela and six other defendants were charged in a federal criminal complaint with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, including heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana. The charges carry a possible maximum penalty of life in prison, according to ICE.

(Excerpt) Read more at scpr.org ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: banglist; ice; mexicangangs
Audio at link.

Up next: Fresh Air

1 posted on 09/29/2009 7:59:55 PM PDT by smokingfrog
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To: smokingfrog

so they spent 9 months dickin around when the ‘illegal’ part was done on day one...nICE...


2 posted on 09/29/2009 8:06:06 PM PDT by Gilbo_3 (Gov is not reason; not eloquent; its force... Like fire, a dangerous servant & master. GW)
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To: US ICE

"agents recovered dozens of high-powered weapons, including assault rifles, handguns, silencers, a shotgun and thousands of rounds of ammunition"

Uh.. what are you going to do with that ammo? ‘Cuz, I could take it off your hands if you wanted.


3 posted on 09/29/2009 8:06:36 PM PDT by I see my hands (_8(|)
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To: I see my hands
No, you can't have it! I need it for our Second Amendment Shooting classes where we teach women to shoot so that they can protect themselves from an attack by vermin of this sort.

Come on, ICE--hand it over---LOL!

4 posted on 09/29/2009 8:09:53 PM PDT by basil (It's time to rid the country of "Gun Free Zones" aka "Killing Fields")
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To: smokingfrog
High powered weapons? Nukes? MOABs? 155s? Mortars? Quad 50s? Squad weapons?

Probably just a bunch of 7.62x?? junk. The press is sad in their ignorance of weapons of warfare.

/johnny

5 posted on 09/29/2009 8:10:42 PM PDT by JRandomFreeper (God Bless us all, each, and every one.)
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To: smokingfrog

6 posted on 09/29/2009 8:14:21 PM PDT by DemforBush (Somebody wake me when sanity has returned to the nation.)
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To: JRandomFreeper

I think the Tec-9 is semi-auto, so not a submachine gun.
Not sure about the MAC-11.


7 posted on 09/29/2009 8:17:44 PM PDT by smokingfrog (No man's life, liberty or property is safe while the legislature is in session. I AM JIM THOMPSON)
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To: smokingfrog
...and thousands of rounds of ammunition...

Somehow, I suspected that not all of the ammo shortage was attributable to conservatives and friends of the Republic buying up every available round.

8 posted on 09/29/2009 8:48:27 PM PDT by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing.)
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To: smokingfrog

I grew up in Cudahy, CA just west of Bell Gardens in the 60s and 70s. We knew to watch out for the Bell Gardens cops if we went over the riverbed there.

Hopefully they still have that reputation. I don’t hold out much hope with the PC climate in Kalifornica though [:-(

I hope these really were all gangbanger or drug dealer owned weapons and not some RKBA enthusiasts caught up in a raid.


9 posted on 09/29/2009 8:59:28 PM PDT by AZ .44 MAG (A society that doesn't protect its children doesn't deserve to survive.)
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To: AZ .44 MAG

I grew up in Garbage Grove where the cops were proper jack booted fascists.


10 posted on 09/29/2009 9:18:52 PM PDT by rahbert
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To: smokingfrog

“high powered assault weapons” including pistols, shotguns, and rifles...

I’d be curious to hear if there’s ANY firearm they wouldn’t describe as “high-powered” or too “assaulty” (and thus necessary to ban immediately).


11 posted on 09/29/2009 9:27:08 PM PDT by BobbyT
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To: rahbert

Ha ha! I used to drive through Garbage Grove to get to the beach. In Jr. High we rode bikes to Long Beach by riding south on Garfield.

Cudahy was patrolled by Bell cops IIRC. In Cudahy one of the things I remembered was seeing a B&W with lights and sirens screaming down Atlantic to Chris’s Burgers, turning off the lights & siren and sitting down to lunch. Jackbooted? Maybe.

I have a couple of links to Cudahy on my profile page if you’re interested.


12 posted on 09/29/2009 9:29:24 PM PDT by AZ .44 MAG (A society that doesn't protect its children doesn't deserve to survive.)
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To: AZ .44 MAG
In Jr. High we rode bikes to Long Beach by riding south on Garfield.

You know you were deprived as a child when you had to go to Long Beach for excitement. I grew up in NLB (aka 'Nortown'), and WE rode our bikes down Long Beach Boulevard to the Pike. We'd get up in the morning, gather all the loose pop bottles we could find, pool our money and ride the roller coaster, in the very back car, 6 or 7 times in a row.

13 posted on 09/29/2009 10:43:54 PM PDT by ARepublicanForAllReasons (Give 'em hell, Sarah!)
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To: ARepublicanForAllReasons
I grew up in NLB (aka 'Nortown'), and WE rode our bikes down Long Beach Boulevard to the Pike.

We would go to the Pike too. We'd tell our parents we were going to each other's houses and ride our bikes there. I wrecked one of the go-karts once. The bikers that were running the place at the time took out after me. Luckily at 15 I could make full use of the adrenaline and left them in the dust.

We also used to break into the Queen Mary later on after we could drive. They only had one security guard that we knew of and it was easy to stay away from him. I wasn't a good kid but I never got caught and the Marines straightened me out after high school.

N long beach wasn't a very good area IIRC, was it?

14 posted on 09/30/2009 9:14:16 AM PDT by AZ .44 MAG (A society that doesn't protect its children doesn't deserve to survive.)
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