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MS-13 Member Among 6 Arrested In Arizona Drug Raid

(Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Lillian Reese Contributor
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One member of MS-13 and five others were arrested during a drug bust in Arizona on Friday.

A Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Scottsdale Police Department joint-task force concluded a lengthy investigation into a drug trafficking ring in Mesa, Arizona — a suburb of Scottsdale — on Mar. 1. The state approved warrants that allowed agents and investigators to search four different homes, leading to six arrests.

Officials say two kilograms of cocaine, 1,000 pills suspected to contain fentanyl, $28,000 in cash, 16 weapons, stolen firearms, body armor and thousands of rounds of ammunition were seized by enforcement agents during the raid. (RELATED: Attorneys General From Every State Push For Congressional Action To Beef Up Fentanyl Enforcement)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 23: Bags of heroin, some laced with fentanyl, are displayed before a press conference regarding a major drug bust, at the office of the New York Attorney General, September 23, 2016 in New York City. New York State Attorney General Eric Scheiderman's office announced Friday that authorities in New York state have made a record drug bust, seizing 33 kilograms of heroin and 2 kilograms of fentanyl. According to the attorney general's office, it is the largest seizure in the 46 year history of New York's Organized Crime Task Force. Twenty-five peopole living in New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Arizona and New Jersey have been indicted in connection with the case. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Bags of heroin, some laced with fentanyl, are displayed before a press conference regarding a major drug bust … (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

One of the arrested suspects, Jose Gonzalez-Ramos, admitted to being a member of the violent Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang after he was taken into custody on Friday. (RELATED: MS-13 Member Taken Into Custody Over ‘Gang-Related’ NYC Subway Murder)

“The safety and protection of American citizens by targeting drug traffickers, violent gang members and other criminal organizations is our highest priority,” said Special Agent in Charge of DEA in Arizona Doug Coleman. “These criminals who prey on our communities will be discovered, and along with our law enforcement partners, the men and women of DEA will bring them to justice.”

Yasary Bejarano, Luis Adrian Gonzalez Perez, Carlos Daniel Pineda Martinez, Jorge Marin Cuevas and John Hernandez Vera were also arrested in the raid.

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office will prosecute the six suspects, who have been charged with multiple state drugs and weapons charges including possession of weapons, narcotic drug possession, money laundering and conducting an illegal enterprise.