17 MS-13 Members Arrested In Massive Blow To Deadly Gang: DA

Seventeen MS-13 gang members on Long Island and around the country were arrested in an operation that spanned multiple states and countries and led to the arrest of the leader of MS-13 in the Northeast and stopped $1 million of heroin from reaching the streets, Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said Thursday.

The 17 alleged gang members, many of whom have not been named because of pending extradition, are all charged with various crimes, including second-degree murder, operating as a major trafficker and second-degree conspiracy. But all 17 face up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the top charges against them.

Among those arrested was the alleged leader of MS-13's operations in the Northeast, along with many other high-ranking gang members. In addition, the investigation exposed the gangs domestic and international connections and business methods. Singas said it was a massive blow to the criminal organization that was one of the biggest gang takedowns her office has ever seen.

The information that the Nassau County DA's office gathered was so comprehensive in scope, Singas said, that they were able to share information with officials in El Salvador that led to the arrest of one of MS-13's kingpins.

“This massive multi-agency investigation laid bare the global size, complexity, and brutality of MS-13, and these indictments strike a heavy blow to the gang’s operations on Long Island,” Singas said. “These alleged gang members have terrorized vulnerable immigrant communities, trafficked deadly heroin into our neighborhoods, and this coalition of more than 22 agencies nationwide will continue to be unrelenting in our efforts to dismantle MS-13.”

Singas said, that beginning in May 2017, the DA's and the Drug Enforcement Administration began an investigation into the alleged drug activity of several MS-13 members. Investigators identified MS-13 operations, or “cliques,” in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and Texas. The investigation on Long Island targeted the "Hollywood" and "Sailors" cliques of MS-13, which operated in Hempstead, Freeport, Roosevelt, Uniondale, Glen Cove, Greenport, Central Islip and elsewhere, and received orders directly from gang leaders in El Salvador.

RELATED: MS-13: An Inside Look At The Brutal Gang And Its Insidious Spread On Long Island

Cliques are sub-groups of MS-13. All cliques are MS-13 gang members, and each clique operates individually under it’s on rules, yet is still under the greater rules of the entire organization. MS-13 mandates that cliques respect each other and their territories. Any issues or conflicts between cliques that require resolution or punishment are handled by MS-13 senior leadership.

Hollywood and Sailors clique leaders allegedly reported to gang leaders in El Salvador, and sent them the proceeds of their criminal activities. Based on the evidence acquired during the investigation, the gang also has affiliates operating around the world in places such as Mexico, Colombia, South Korea, France, Australia, Peru, Egypt, Ecuador and Cuba. Singas said that the scope of the gang's global reach surprised investigators.

The indictment alleges that David Sosa Guevara, aka Risky, and Victor Lopez, brutally murdered 15-year-old Angel Soler on July 21, 2017, in Nassau County. Soler’s body was mutilated, bearing injuries consistent with the use of a machete, and he suffered blunt force trauma to the head. He was left buried until his remains were discovered on Oct. 19 in a remote wooden area in Roosevelt, just south of the Southern State Parkway, and cement was poured over part of his body.

On three separate occasions, prosecutors say several of the alleged gang members conspired to commit murder. The murders were to take place in Nassau County, Elizabeth, New Jersey and Prince George’s County, Maryland, but the attempts were thwarted by law enforcement officials, thereby saving lives.

On July 19, 2017, Kevin Cuevas Del Cid, aka Creeper, and Augustine Benitez, aka Olvidado, allegedly conspired to lure a victim into the woods in the Roosevelt/Freeport area with the promise of marijuana – and intended to kill him. The following day, working with NCPD and Homeland Security, Cuevas Del Cid was apprehended and detained in the Glen Cove area at his landscaping job.

“Today’s indictments of charges on murder, conspiracy and drug charges is a stark reminder that our work is not done in our quest to rid these violent street gangs form our neighborhoods," said Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder. "Although we are making great strides regarding our enforcement aspect, we must also be there to educate the young adults and children in these communities. I cannot have good families and their children in our Hispanic communities continue to be intimidated by this fear and violence.”

On Sept. 26, 2017, one high-ranking defendant allegedly instructed Ever Morales Lopez, aka Lenky, to meet Edgar Orellana Saravia, aka Chavi, in Elizabeth, New Jersey. They were allegedly sent to do reconnaissance – including choosing a suitable location to commit the murder of a rival gang member and determining if cameras were nearby. The two allegedly discussed where to dispose the victim’s body and how deep to dig the hole.

Working with the FBI, Lopez and Saravia were apprehended in New Jersey on Sept. 30, 2017.

On September 29, 2017, a gang member allegedly instructed Benitez to recruit members of their clique on Long Island to kill another individual in Maryland, who was believed was cooperating with law enforcement. Working with law enforcement in Maryland the murder was thwarted.

Although the case began as a narcotic trafficking investigation, MS-13’s proclivity for violence was quickly realized, and the investigation adapted. Nevertheless, it was clear that the heroin and cocaine trafficking were profitable to the gang and necessary for its existence.

This seven-month-long investigation revealed that kilograms of heroin were allegedly moved internationally by the Sailors clique regional director of the Eastern United States and his associate, who conducted business from a Mississippi prison. Approximately four kilograms of heroin were seized, with evidence of additional kilograms reaching U.S. soil and being distributed by the gang at the kilogram level, the street value of which is approximately $1 million.

Multiple counts in the indictment allege the trafficking of heroin and cocaine for profit. Several of the defendants allegedly obtained, picked up and/or sold narcotics in Nassau, Suffolk and the Bronx; Baltimore, Maryland; Long Branch, New Jersey; and Jefferson County, Texas.

Cocaine, packaging materials, a loaded firearm, a large hunting knife, machete, as well as ledger books and gang paraphernalia were also seized during the investigation.

Additionally, based on information gathered in this case, the NCDA assisted law enforcement in Prince George’s County, Maryland, with the arrest of individuals for two murders. Rolando Aristides Juarez-Vazquez was charged with first- and second-degree murder; Jimmy Alexander Villalobos-Gomez and Omar Alexis Iglesias-Gamero were charged with accessory after the fact; and Omar Alexi Campos was charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana and harboring a fugitive with the intent to prevent his discovery and arrest. All four are alleged to be MS-13 gang members and are El Salvadorian Nationals, and are currently being prosecuted in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

On Sept. 16, 2017, three alleged MS-13 members of the Sailors Clique murdered a rival gang member in Riverdale, Maryland. Kevin Alexander Soriana-Hernandez, an El Salvadorian National; Carlos Daniel Cardenas-Banegas, a Honduran National; and Wilfredo Cardenas-Banegas, a Honduran National, were arrested by members of the Prince George’s County Police Department and DEA based on intelligence gathered by the Nassau County District Attorney's office. They are currently being prosecuted in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

Even though the arrests represent a major blow to MS-13, Singas said that prosecutors and law enforcement will continue to be vigilant and dogged in their pursuit of the gang.

"MS-13 cannot operate in Nassau County," she said. "Period."

Photo: Alex Costello/Patch