LOS ANGELES -- Thirty four gang members were arrested in a series of recent raids at illegal after-hours bars and nightclubs in Los Angeles, according to police.
The arrests were the culmination of an 18-month investigation into "casitas" concealed inside homes and closed stores in South Los Angeles.
One illegal club was located just blocks from the 77th Street Police Station, authorities said. Patrons entered through an unmarked door, and the operator had deliberately spray-painted the wrong address outside.
Federal agents said the 18th Street gang operated the underground bars and clubs, and used them for various criminal enterprises.
The locations have been connected to homicides, shootings, drug trafficking and gambling, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
At least three homicides in the 77th Street Division area occurred in or around the casitas, police said.
Authorities have raided five casitas since late June, and have seized $142,000 they say would have gone to the gang.
During the investigation -- known as Operation Treadstone -- the LAPD also seized 15 illegal firearms, 18 slot machines and 200 pounds of illegal fireworks from 19 locations.
Casitas are an important source of funding for gang activity, according to police. Patrons pay to enter the illegal clubs, where they have access to alcohol, drugs, prostitutes and slot machines.
Police say the raids and arrests are targeting key members of the 18th Street gang, which is one of the oldest and largest gangs in Southern California.
Last month, a federal grand jury indicted nine alleged members and associates of the 18th Street Gang.
The arrests were the culmination of an 18-month investigation into "casitas" concealed inside homes and closed stores in South Los Angeles.
One illegal club was located just blocks from the 77th Street Police Station, authorities said. Patrons entered through an unmarked door, and the operator had deliberately spray-painted the wrong address outside.
Federal agents said the 18th Street gang operated the underground bars and clubs, and used them for various criminal enterprises.
The locations have been connected to homicides, shootings, drug trafficking and gambling, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
At least three homicides in the 77th Street Division area occurred in or around the casitas, police said.
Authorities have raided five casitas since late June, and have seized $142,000 they say would have gone to the gang.
During the investigation -- known as Operation Treadstone -- the LAPD also seized 15 illegal firearms, 18 slot machines and 200 pounds of illegal fireworks from 19 locations.
Casitas are an important source of funding for gang activity, according to police. Patrons pay to enter the illegal clubs, where they have access to alcohol, drugs, prostitutes and slot machines.
Police say the raids and arrests are targeting key members of the 18th Street gang, which is one of the oldest and largest gangs in Southern California.
Last month, a federal grand jury indicted nine alleged members and associates of the 18th Street Gang.