Feds conduct bust of Mexican Mafia-linked L.A. gang known for kidnapping, murder

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Federal agents arrested 16 alleged members of Puente-13 — a violent San Gabriel Valley-based gang known for carrying out killings “greenlighted” by the Mexican Mafia, kidnapping enemies and trafficking significant amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl, authorities said.The suspects were arrested Wednesday on federal complaints alleging their involvement in a kidnapping, two shootings, illegal firearms sales and the trafficking of narcotics, according to the U.S.Department of Justice.

The complaints name 20 alleged members and associates, three of whom remain at large and one who was already in state custody.The at-large defendants are Larry Castillo, 42, aka “Lil Dee,” of Victorville; Soo Kang, 31, aka “Easy,” of Koreatown; and Bryan Gordian-Padilla, 24, aka “Goon,” of West Covina.Authorities said others arrested Wednesday had aliases including “Pollo,” “Ghost,” “Snowbella,” “Lil Speedy” and “Monkey.” California Authorities in Los Angeles announced charges Tuesday against suspected members of a San Pedro gang, including a state prisoner who allegedly used contraband cellphones to carry out the bidding of the Mexican Mafia.During the investigation, authorities seized 71 firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition, prosecutors said.

They confiscated thousands of pills containing fentanyl and carfentanil — a synthetic drug more than 100 times as potent as fentanyl by weight — and 10 pounds of methamphetamine.In addition to drug trafficking and illegal firearm sales, the complaints link alleged Puente-13 members to three violent crimes — a December 2022 shooting of rival gangsters at a Covina residence; a July 2023 kidnapping of two victims, one of whom was beaten with a metal pole; and a May 2025 shooting outside a La Puente liquor store.Puente-13 is a multi-generational Latino street gang that was founded in the early 1950s in La P...