Chicago Police Arrest 15 in Gang Investigation

Chicago police say a gang investigation on the city's West Side has led to more than a dozen arrests and the recovery of more than $1.6 million in narcotics and firearms.

The two-month investigation was called "Operation Triple Threat" and targeted 35 members of the Four Corner Hustlers street gang.

Police recovered eight firearms and charged 15 people with drug-related offenses.

Local officials, including Mayor Rahm Emanuel, announced the results of the investigation on Monday during a news conference in Chicago.

"What happened here, in the takedown, is an opportunity. And this opportunity too often in the past has gotten squandered," said Emanuel.

Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy says the investigation is just the beginning of a new way of addressing gang violence in a comprehensive fashion.

"To identify the members and the factions and the conflicts that are happening on the ground today," McCarthy said, "so that when an event occurs, the first folks who are on the scene are looking toward the next event to prevent the next event from occurring."

He says the arrests from the investigation dismantle an alleged drug market with estimated daily sales of approximately $7,000.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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