CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Sixty-two alleged members of Charlotte-area gangs were arrested Tuesday in an effort to rid the city of a growing gang problem that has caused the deaths of 11 people over the past 2 1/2 years, federal officials said.
"We will not passively accept the encroachment of gangs and the taking over of our neighborhoods," U.S. Attorney Bob Conrad said at a news conference.
Of those detained in "Operation Fed Up," 53 were being held on immigration charges and will have deportation hearings, Conrad said. Six suspects were arrested and released pending a hearing to determine their immigration status.
The other three were being held on federal criminal charges, including illegal possession of firearms and returning to the United States after being deported.
City and federal officers were involved in the early-morning sweep, which targeted members of Latino street gangs.
"We did not solve the gang problem today, and I don't want to misrepresent that, but this was a strong, proactive strike," said Ken Burkhart, a group supervisor with the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police have documented about 800 gang members in the city.
Fifteen members of Mara Salvatrucha 13, which police say is the city's most violent gang, have been charged with murder since April, including seven in the death of 19-year-old Isai Alexander Euceda. He was killed during a shootout involving at least 17 people in a park April 13.
The shooting, police said, was part of a dispute between Salvadoran and Honduran members over leadership of the gang.