(Los Angeles) Dozens of members of the “Peckerwoods”, a white supremacist gang, were indicted on Wednesday in California, notably for drug trafficking – a “critical blow” against this neo-Nazi criminal organization, according to the attorney general.
Large quantities of drugs, including fentanyl – a synthetic opioid whose spread has claimed many lives in the United States – as well as numerous illegal weapons were seized in coordinated raids targeting the “Peckerwoods of the San Fernando Valley ”, near Los Angeles.
“The Peckerwoods’ violent white supremacist ideology and extensive criminal activities pose a serious threat to the public,” federal prosecutor Martin Estrada said, calling them a “destructive force.”
Indictments against 68 defendants were unsealed Wednesday, including counts of racketeering, drug trafficking, fraud, and firearms violations.
According to the court filing, the Peckerwoods are under the orders of the Aryan Brotherhood, a white supremacist prison gang, and have allied themselves with the Mexican Mafia prison gang, which controls most Latino street gangs in California.
The Peckerwoods sport Nazi tattoos and display symbols including swastikas, the number “88” (code for “Heil Hitler”), and German planes from World War II.
“The Department of Justice has dealt a critical blow to the Peckerwoods of the San Fernando Valley,” said Minister Merrick Garland in a press release.