Dozens of alleged Mexican Mafia members and associates were arrested during a federal investigation, including several warrants served at locations across Southern California early Thursday.
FBI raids took place in both Los Angeles and Orange counties in what federal officials called “Operation Gangsta’s Paradise.” Arrest warrants were served in Anaheim, Santa Ana and Lakewood, during which 25 alleged gang members were arrested. They are all believed to be part of “La Eme,” which is a U.S.-based prison gang that has control over other street gangs in Southern California,” said a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The arrests were made in connection with three federal indictments that charge 40 defendants with a litany of counts like kidnapping, extortion, drug trafficking, illegal gambling and murder. Federal investigators said that the murder happened at a “gang-controlled Anaheim motel.”
A reporter points to a board displaying individuals identified by law enforcement as members and associates of the Mexican Mafia after a news conference in Santa Ana, Calif., Thursday, April 23, 2026.
Jae C. Hong / AP
Forty-three defendants in total are named in the indictments, the DOJ said. They noted that 15 of the people arrested Thursday were due in court in Santa Ana, while 10 others had scheduled court appearances in Los Angeles. Twelve were already said to be in state custody in connection with other matters and were scheduled in court at a later time, according to prosecutors.
“Gang members who murder, extort, kidnap, and traffic drugs and firearms are a menace to our communities and our way of life,” said a statement from U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, who was in attendance during a raid in Lakewood on Thursday. “Today’s arrests highlight the continuing cooperation between federal and local law enforcement against violent felons and our unyielding determination to crack down on organized crime in our prisons and our streets.”
Federal agents also seized nearly 120 pounds of methamphetamine, nine pounds of fentanyl, 6.6 pounds of cocaine and two pounds of heroin, along with 25 firearms and more than $30,000 in cash during the warrants on Thursday, the release said.
“Most of what’s being trafficked today are pills, pills laced with fentanyl,” Essayli said during a Thursday press conference following the arrests. “The amount of fentanyl that we seized on this case … can literally kill thousands of kids. One fentanyl pill can kill a minor whose not used to having those drugs in their system.”
According to the DOJ, the indictment alleges that Luis Cardenas, 48, who was an inmate at Ironwood State Prison, oversaw gang operations in Orange County and at other prison facilities from June 2024 to April 2026.
“From his prison cell, Cardenas used an encrypted messaging application on contraband cell phones to direct … the operation of the Mexican Mafia’s activities in Orange County,” prosecutors said. “Cardenas directed others to kidnap and assault people in bad standing with him.”
They alleged that several of the defendants arrested on Thursday acted for Cardenas, including shooting at and assaulting the alleged victims. They further noted that El Eme ran illegal gambling businesses at commercial strip malls and private residences.
The DOJ’s release also alleges that two of the men arrested on Thursday, Matthew Kundrat, 29, of Anaheim and Manuel Ramos, 45, of Santa Ana, “murdered a victim at the Akua Inn” in Anaheim.
“Kundrat and Ramos committed the murder for the purpose of gaining entrance to the Mexican Mafia and increasing their standing in their criminal enterprise,” the release said. “Both Kundrat and Ramos are charged with committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering activity and, if convicted, would face a mandatory sentence of life in federal prison and would be eligible for the death penalty.”
Prosecutors said that the FBI work with the Anaheim, Santa Ana and Fullerton police departments in their investigation, as well as the Drug Enforcement Administration, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and IRS Criminal Investigation.
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