AUSTIN — Authorities have arrested 74 people, who were charged with gang and drug crimes, officials said Monday. In addition, illegal cigarettes and an automatic pistol, among other weapons, were seized.
The arrests took place in the Harrison and Austin districts.
The crackdown was aimed "at the heart of gang operations," according to a statement from Chicago Police. It was a joint effort between police and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
Officials said they targeted those two districts "based upon historical crime incidents, known locations of narcotics sales, vice complaints, and known areas of street gang activity."
Thirty-two of the 74 arrested were documented gang members, officials said.
Authorities said seven handguns and a MAC-11 Machine Pistol were seized, along with four vehicles, 205 packs of unstamped cigarettes and $13,000.
"The Chicago Police Department will remain steadfast in its mission to weaken street gangs by targeting their operations," Police Interim Supt. John Escalante said a prepared statement. "By removing their sources of funding we can make it harder for them to sustain their activities and make the streets of Chicago safer."
"This operation is another example of the commitment of ATF to the Chicago Police Department and our federal partners in having an impact on firearms violence in the City of Chicago," said ATF Special Agent in Charge Jeffery Magee.
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