33 Gang Members Arrested In Major Drug Bust
Feb 28, 2019, 6:59 AM
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Utah officials announced 33 arrests involving a gang with ties to a shooting that happened at Fashion Place Mall in January.
The U.S. Department of Justice, the Drug Enforcement Agency, as well as other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, made the announcement Wednesday.
The new charges deal with drugs that are connected to Mexican drug cartels, with the drugs coming to Salt Lake City and the drug money going back to the cartels.
The people arrested are tied to the Norteño street gang, which has a significant presence in the Salt Lake City area.
Officials said the reason the gang members are in Utah is because of the market for drugs.
“Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, Utah is being aggressively targeted by the Northern Sinaloa cartels,” said Brian Besser, DEA district agent in charge. “This isn’t something we see on TV. It’s just a fact.”
Besser said there are mutli-millions of dollars at stake.
Officials said they’ve put a dent in the cartel’s operations locally, but they said there’s a line of people ready to fill the void.
