Authorities round up illegal immigrant gang members in North Carolina

Associated Press:

Federal immigration agents in three regions of North Carolina have arrested 77 people in recent weeks who were suspected of being gang members living illegally in the United States.

Authorities said 34 men with suspected affiliations to Hispanic street gangs were picked up in the Triangle area, 25 were detained in the Triad and 18 in the Charlotte area.

The North Carolina total led the nation in a roundup that resulted in arrests of 582 across the country, officials said Monday.

Arrests in Raleigh were higher than the number in much larger cities -- 23 in Los Angeles and 19 in New York. Local police worked with federal agents in the operation.

The sweep followed a roundup that began in the spring, targeting members of Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, a violent street gang born in Los Angeles neighborhoods with a strong presence in North and Central America.

"We are working to convey that this is a community that will be intolerant of violent, illegal, street gang activity," said Raleigh police spokesman Jim Sughrue.

North Carolina leads nation with foreign gang arrests