The US Department of Justice revealed a formal indictment "for conspiracy of organized crime" against nine members of La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) who operated in both the United States and El Salvador.
The indictment brought by a federal judge in the District of Maryland, as revealed by a Press release of the entity, involves "murder, extortion and money laundering."
“As alleged in the replacement indictment revealed today, these MS-13 members not only extorted money from community members to support the gang, both in Maryland and El Salvador, but they allegedly killed an individual who I was cooperating with the police, ”explained Maryland District Attorney Erek L. Barron.
According to court documents, in the United States, MS-13 is organized into divisions or "cliques." The defendants allegedly belonged to one of those cliques called Weedams Locos Salvatrucha, which operates primarily in the Adelphi, Maryland area.
The allegation states that the defendants "extorted multiple victims" on a regular basis and that several of the defendants allegedly "illegally transferred this money to divisions of the MS-13 in El Salvador."
If convicted, the defendants could face penalties ranging from 20 years to life in prison. Currently both the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); such as Homeland Security Investigations and the Prince George's County Police Department are working on the case with other departments.
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