LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Dozens of gang members in the valley are behind bars in the new year.
FOX5 just learned from the FBI in Las Vegas there have been 45 arrests with gang ties in 2024, and the agency is looking for your help to make even more arests.
It all started with a recent social media post asking the public’s help in reporting gangs. But FOX5 learned from Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Jeremy Schwartz with the FBI Las Vegas they’re getting harder to spot in the valley amid a rise in gang activity.
“So you may have somebody right down the street that has tied to a gang and you may never even know. Back in the back in the 90s, gangs were very obvious,” Schwartz said. “It was similar to what you would see on TV. You would have people staying on street corners wearing certain colors.”
Schwartz says that’s all changed now, and these criminals have gotten savvier.
“They’re learning from some of their past mistakes, and so some of that involves doing more crimes that are not quite as prevalent as you would think in the past. Typically, we’re always looking at drug sales and gun trades and things like that, but now we’re also seeing things like human trafficking and even white-collar crimes or fraud investigations that are involving gang members as well,” Schwartz said.
He’s talking about gangs now dabbling in identity theft, opening up fraudulent credit cards and spending other people’s money.
To make sure no one else pays for their scams, the FBI wants to make it a group effort to stop them, and steer people away from that life.
“If you have a family member that might be going down that path or potentially being recruited by a gang member, it’s great to reach out to your local law enforcement or to the FBI so maybe we can intervene, provide them with some resources and potentially prevent them from being a part of that gang before they actually do commit some crimes,” Schwartz said.
Even though the FBI asked the public for help identifying gang activity, Schwartz knows people might get cold feet reporting a tip.
“We always worry about people not wanting to come forward out of fear, retaliation or simply just fear of something happening after they make that first initial call,” Schwartz explained to FOX5.
“That’s why our initial tips to 1-800-CALL-FBI is anonymous, and that makes the biggest difference in our in my mind.”
FOX5 also learned the FBI in Las Vegas still has its eye on MS-13, a violent street gang that operates around the country, and here in the valley after three alleged MS-13 gang members were indicted in 2019 in connection with a kidnapping and murder.
Report gang activity or suspicious activity and crimes to the FBI at this link.
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