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CeaseFire Worker Among 45 Arrested In Gang, Drug And Gun Bust

By Kelly Bauer | May 26, 2017 11:58am | Updated on May 30, 2017 8:37am
 More than 45 people have been arrested as part of a local and federal investigation into the Two-Six street gang that operates on the South Side, suburbs and Northern Indiana, authorities said.
More than 45 people have been arrested as part of a local and federal investigation into the Two-Six street gang that operates on the South Side, suburbs and Northern Indiana, authorities said.
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DOWNTOWN — More than 45 people have been arrested as part of a local and federal investigation into the Two-Six street gang that operates on the South Side, authorities said.

About 118 guns were seized during a two-year investigation; among them were 15 assault-style rifles and 13 shotguns, said acting U.S. Attorney Joel Levin. Those who have been arrested are facing charges of gun and drug trafficking and being felons in possession of guns.

Among those arrested was Francisco Sanchez, 50, who worked with CeaseFire but has been charged with being a felon illegally possessing a gun. CeaseFire is an organization dedicated to working with gangs to reduce violence.

"As we approach this holiday weekend, I think the citizens of Chicago can feel somewhat safe that these violent offenders have been taken down, at least for now," said Celinez Nunez, special agent in charge at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which worked with Chicago Police on the investigation.

The investigation focused on the Gangster Two-Six Nation gang, which has a presence in Brighton Park, Englewood, Chatham and other South Side neighborhoods, as well as in the suburbs and in northern Indiana, officials said. 

Levin said investigators found a man who sold a gun and cocaine out of a Brighton Park pizza parlor and found others selling guns in parking lots and selling MDMA, cocaine, crack, meth and PCP.

More than 250 grams of fentanyl — an opiod linked to a sharp uptick in overdose deaths in Cook County — were seized during the investigation, and police also took in more than 800 grams of cocaine, two bulletproof vests and more than 280 grams of crystal meth, officials said.

Twenty-one of those arrested face federal gun charges, Levin said, and officials still are investigating the 118 guns that were seized.