Russell Contreras:
"ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—Federal agents have arrested around two dozen suspected gang members linked to what authorities are describing as a meth and heroin ring in New Mexico.
Officials with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations are scheduled to announce details of the statewide gang roundup Wednesday at their new offices south of Albuquerque.
Homeland Security Investigations said the operation targeted known gang members in Albuquerque and Farmington near the Navajo Nation.
The roundup of gang members comes after law enforcement agencies around New Mexico have asked federal officials to assist cash-strapped departments in battling gangs, drug trafficking and weapons violations. But as federal authorities have moved into places like Roswell and Las Cruces, violent drug cartels have increased their presence in the remote area of northwest New Mexico that borders Arizona, Utah and Colorado.
Federal authorities said that by getting involved and charging criminals in federal court, they can increase the amount of prison time.
In recent months, Homeland Security agents assisted local law enforcement agencies in more than 20 criminal investigations that will be prosecuted by U.S. attorneys, said Dennis Ulrich, a deputy special agent in charge of the agency's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement......
........Since 2009, Homeland Security Investigations has added around 60 new agents to New Mexico and helped formed a number of joint task forces and multiagency groups aimed at tackling rural gangs, political corruption, drug and gun trafficking, child pornography, and human smuggling......."
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