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Arrests target Hillsborough gang

By ABBIE VANSICKLE
Published September 28, 2006

TAMPA - Hillsborough County sheriff's officials Wednesday showed off a table stacked with assault rifles and handguns, jail mug shots and photos of gang tattoos, announcing the agency's latest fight against street gangs.

A few weeks ago, the target was the Latin Kings, a highly organized gang whose state leaders were arrested at a local cultural club.

Wednesday morning, it was Sur 13, a gang with a growing influence in the county.

"We're going to hit them hard, and we're going to hit them often," said Sheriff David Gee, calling the gang members thugs, robbers and hoodlums.

Investigators arrested 36 suspects on multiple charges including armed robbery, cocaine trafficking and burglary with assault. Seven were juveniles, one a 10-year-old, Gee said.

The raids capped an eight-month investigation by the Sheriff's Office, Tampa police, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, U.S. Marshals Service and the FBI.

Sur 13 is not as organized as the Latin Kings, but it is influential in the county, especially in the southeast, Gee said. Investigators think the gang is spreading to other areas, including Plant City and northern parts of Tampa.

Members are accused of stealing firearms to trade for drugs, he said. Immigration officials got involved because at least two of the accused have been previously deported.

Sur 13 played a role in the fatal shooting of a Plant City 15-year-old, Arnulfo Montelongo, in Wimauma in April, Gee said.

[Last modified September 28, 2006, 01:12:04]