https://news3lv.com/news/local/alleged- ... -operation
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — The Clark County Gang Task Force and LVMPD Gangs Major Case Team scored a major takedown, arresting several suspected members of a white supremacist gang known as The Aryan Warriors.
News 3 was there exclusively as several suspects were cuffed and taken into custody on Saturday.
"We spent many months targeting this violent organization, the Aryan Warriors," DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Daniel Neill said. “This organization is a violent, white supremacist organization.”
The culmination of a seven-month operation involved support from local and federal law enforcement agencies, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), NLVPD, U.S. Marshals, DEA, FBI, LVMPD, and the DOC's Inspector General's office.
“It’s a total team effort," Neill said.
A newly unsealed indictment reveals suspected members of this gang have committed crimes all over the valley, ranging from fraud and drug trafficking to murder. The operation led to 23 indictments, and around 150 counts of a variety of crimes.
8 suspected members were taken into custody on Saturday morning, several others were arrested in recent months, and many others were already in prison serving time for felonies, according to law enforcement.
Search warrants led detectives to drugs, dozens of guns, and evidence of fraud labs. Metro Police report seizing more than 30 firearms, and say 8 of them were reported as stolen.
A local white supremacist gang was taken down by law enforcement, thanks to groundwork set by a special task force. (KSNV)
“The sheer violence and everything that goes along with this particular groups was enough to get our attention, and we brought everything that we could to the table to combat this problem," Neill said.
LVMPD Lt. Reggie Rader explained the goal of the operation was to, "wrap all of them up, put cases on all of them, and dismantle that gang."
“When you start to commit violent acts, and you’re victimizing the good people of this valley, you’re going to get the full force of Las Vegas Metro Police and our federal partners thrown at you so we can not only just put an arrest on you, but put great, in-depth cases on you to ensure you don’t just go to jail for a little while, you go to prison and you’re no longer able to really affect the culture or community," Rader said. “They commit crimes as a group, we’re going to target them as a group."
A local white supremacist gang was taken down by law enforcement, thanks to groundwork set by a special task force. (KSNV)
A DEA Special Agent tells News 3 this gang has operated inside and outside of Nevada prisons since the 1970's.
“As members of the gang leave the prison system to return to society, they’re tasked with continuing to commit crimes on the outside in order to fund the gang’s activities, and benefit the leadership which is still inside the prison," the special agent said. “Everything from drug trafficking to fraudulent checks, credit card fraud, identify theft."
Four suspected members are also facing homicide charges.
“This is a gang that’s very active here that’s been involved in some murders, and a lot of violence," the special agent said.
The special agent reveals attempts to take many of the suspected members into custody over the past several months have been tough and often led to dangerous situations.
“When confronted by law enforcement, they are invariably uncooperative and violent," the special agent said. “They’re going to fight, and they have done so.”
A local white supremacist gang was taken down by law enforcement, thanks to groundwork set by a special task force. (KSNV)
The special agent says one incident occurred in February, where one suspected member was involved in an officer-involved shooting.
“There have been some close calls," Rader said. “Some moments there where we were kind of touch and go with life and death in a minute.”
Rader says the efforts of the investigation have also prevented serious and violent crimes from occurring.
A local white supremacist gang was taken down by law enforcement, thanks to groundwork set by a special task force. (KSNV)
“The men and women assigned to this case, on both our federal partner side and the state and local law enforcement have prevented numerous murders and shootings from occurring with this gang, and innocent people getting hurt," he said.
Keith Carter, the Nevada High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program (HIDTA) Director, stressed the importance of the cooperation between all of the different agencies involved.
“It’s definitely something that is dangerous for the community, dangerous for the officers and agents that are involved in the case," Carter said. "So, the more information that they have, which is what our intelligence side of the house does, the better they’re going to be able to put their case together.”
Rader says law enforcement agencies in the Valley will continue to target gang activity in the area.
“I hope this is a warning to other groups out there that might want to engage or continue, in their illegal activities," he said.
