In a sweeping, pre-dawn raid in Los Angeles on Tuesday, twelve wanted criminals were arrested in a dramatic seven-agency sting led by the Department of Homeland Security.
The bust was the culmination of a nearly two-year investigation dubbed "Operation Supper's Ready," that targeted dueling transnational gangs that U.S. officials say are exploiting and terrorizing the United States.
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Some of the suspects are charged with attempted murder, kidnapping and fraud. One scheme alone stole $83 million in Amazon goods, according to court documents.
"What you're seeing now is part of the (Trump) Administration's priorities. We're going after transnational criminal organizations, violent and organized crime, going out into the community and getting the most dangerous folks out of here," said Bill Essayli, the L.A.-based United States Attorney for the Central District of California.
The gangs that were targeted are Armenian-led, but they're ultimately transnational with members born in various countries, including Iran and Azerbaijan. The organized crime syndicates also have ties to the Mexican mafia and, in one instance, hired an assassin from the Sureño gang, who shot two people in a murder-for-hire plot, killing one of them.
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"This has been going on for years, "Essayli said. "This particular gang, these Armenian gangs here, have been terrorizing the community."
Fox News got exclusive access with DHS as it carried out a fully armored search-and-arrest of one of the suspects at his home before sunrise in an upscale L.A. area neighborhood. Luxury SUVs were parked out front.
Areg Bezik is charged with setting up fake delivery companies that picked up tens of millions of dollars in Amazon goods like appliances and beauty products and then delivered them to his own warehouse to be stored or re-sold.
"This particular individual is here on a Visa. He's engaged in a tremendous amount of illegal activity as we lay out in our complaint. If he's convicted, he will be removed from the country," Essayli said.
Among those arrested were the alleged leaders of two competing gangs, identified as the "Amiryan Organized Crime Group" and "Artuni Enterprise." Officials say they were in a power struggle across Los Angeles and in Florida, where there was also an operation Tuesday that netted one arrest.
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The competing gangs are accused of terrorizing their American neighborhoods, shooting at each other and in one instance kidnapping and torturing another member, capturing the violence on video.
The tension between the two was evident at the command center on Tuesday where they were being collectively gathered and processed. At point there, while two of the men were handcuffed and chained at the feet, one of them slammed his body into another, leading to a shouting match and law enforcement separating the two.
"This is purely an operation that makes the community much safer," said HSI Los Angeles Acting Deputy Special Agent in Charge Dwayne Angebrandt.
DHS and the U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles told Fox on site that the ability to make arrests at home and carry out these types of stings has become much easier under the Trump administration.
"We've been able to go after these criminals much more robustly and able to attack them where they live," Angebrandt said.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says approximately $100,000 in cash, three armored vehicles, and 14 firearms were recovered during the bust and one suspect remains at large.
If convicted, the defendants could face between 10 years and life in federal prison, as well as deportation.
"It's a privilege to be here on a visa or other temporary status within our country. So they are visitors, they violate our laws, and they'll be prosecuted, hopefully convicted, and then removed," said Essayli.
Law enforcement tells Fox the sting got its name "Operation Supper's Ready" based off a picture depicting some of the suspects enjoying a "mob-style" dinner.
