AVENUES CAN'T STAY OUT OF THE NEWS.
Yesterday ICE and the LAPD arrested nine members or associates of the Drew Street clique of Avenues on immigrant smuggling charges. The arrests took place on Avenue 34, in Holtville and Calexico. Clearly, the Guerrero faction of Drew Street doesn't limit its activities to dope and taxation. According to the ICE press release, this group was responsible for smuggling 200 immigrants a year into the US for prices ranging from $2,500 to $4,000 depending on the mode of transport and other factors.

Continuing on the theme of a recent post, it's becoming clear that the lines between traditional neighborhoods and the Emeros and their connection to International criminal orgs is becoming blurred. Immigrant smuggling has not been a core activity of neighborhood operations. That sort of operation was left to the border-based groups and freelance coyotes.

That no longer seems to be the case. Where there's money to be made, mutually beneficial alliances between criminal groups usually follows. These alliances my be temporary or they may be an indication of things to come. One could easily see the creation of hybrid gangs composed of locals and foreigners with an equally heterogeneous hierarchy composed of prison-based and cross-border upper level managers.

The founders of the current Eme saw in their future a super gang composed of the best from the street gangs. We may be seeing the beginning of a future supergang composed of the best from both sides of the border.