WATCH: Guardia Civil arrests 16 of the most violent and important members of Latin King gang in Spain

16 of the most violent and important members of the notorious Latin King gang were arrested by the Guardia Civil in Madrid and Coruña.

As reported in a statement from the Guardia Civil on Monday, February 20, in the framework of ‘Operation Twisted’, the force arrested 16 members of the notorious Latin King gang. Raids took place in properties in the provinces of Madrid and Coruña.

The gang members were detained for alleged crimes of belonging to a criminal organisation, injuries, threats, robbery with violence and drug trafficking, among others.

This latest operation originated from investigations initiated by the Information Group of the Madrid Guardia Civil as part of ‘Operation Confused’ back in June 2021. It investigated aggression with bladed weapons in the Madrid town of Galapagar in which three individuals were injured by machetes by alleged members of the Latin King.

Through the investigations, the officers were able to ascertain that the aggressor group was made up of members of the Latin Kings of Galapagar. Their objective was to attack members of the Trinitarios gang of Collado Villalba. This was carried out as an act of territorial defence usually practised by these groups.

The Guardia Civil was able to confirm the growth of criminal activity carried out by these gangs through robberies with violence, threats, injuries and drug trafficking.

In the majority of the offences by individuals investigated in ‘Operation Confundido’, these actions were mostly committed in the Madrid municipality of Galapagar and other neighbouring municipalities.

At the same time, police officers began to detect attempts by the Latin Kings to recruit new underage members in schools in different Madrid municipalities. Thanks to the collaboration of teaching teams in the facilities, this was halted.

The work of the investigators allowed them to obtain numerous relevant data on the criminal activity carried out by the Latin Kings. Their leader was found to be maintaining close and constant organic contact with the absolute leader of the gang.

This person was also the founder of the gang in Spain at the beginning of the 2000s in Galapagar. He has been serving a prison sentence for rape, among other crimes, since 2003.

Complex work carried out by the Guardia Civil’s Information Service over the last few months confirmed that this is a perfectly organised group. It has a clear aim to commit crimes, and an iron internal discipline.

This criminal structure bases its modus operandi on the execution of the directives dictated hierarchically by the higher part of the organisation. These are generally crimes with which they obtain an economic benefit that allows them to finance themselves.

Such activities include drug trafficking, crimes against property (especially robberies with violence and intimidation), and crimes against persons (injuries and threats).

In addition to the aforementioned criminal actions, these groups stand out especially for the violence they inflict in their actions. They also carry out extremely violent confrontations against other gangs they consider their enemies, sometimes including other sections of the same gang.

This is done in order to take control of the territories in which they are based, causing extremely serious situations for public safety in the process.

Most of these groups seek to incorporate underage members into their ranks, either in a minor hierarchical position or as aspirants who have not yet acquired the status of full members.

These youngsters are induced by senior members to leave their social and family circles for the benefit of the gang. They are subsequently placed in charge of committing illicit activities that serve as a means of financing and raising the gang’s power status.

As a result of the operation, 16 people were arrested, one of them underage, with another one placed under investigation. In the searches carried out in five homes, officers seized large bladed weapons of the machete type, a metal dagger, precision scales, literature, symbols, and clothing typical of this organisation, as well as cash.

Hemos detenido a 16 miembros de #LatinKing, por supuestos delitos de pertenencia a organización criminal, lesiones, amenazas, robo con violencia y tráfico de drogas, entre otros.https://t.co/Mrs3GbMijp pic.twitter.com/LFMRZbBlcp

— Guardia Civil 🇪🇸 (@guardiacivil) February 20, 2023

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