Chicago Police Arrest Nearly 100 Gang Members in ‘Significant Gang Takedown'

The Chicago Police Department has arrested nearly 100 documented gang members on narcotics and weapons charges in what's being called one of the largest drug and violence missions in the department's history, officials said Friday.

Over the past two days, a total of 140 people were arrested, 95 of them being documented gang members, police said. At least 83 people also received "enhanced charges" for selling narcotics within 1,000 feet of a school. 

The department said it used its "strategic subject list," an algorithm that calculates "the propensity of an individual to be a victim of gun violence based on a number of risk factors, including gang affiliations, arrests and previous contact with CPD." Of the 140 arrested, 117 were on the list, authorities said. 

Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson indicated the arrests were done ahead of the summer months, when city violence has traditionally spiked. 

"These initiatives send a clear message to anyone who contributes to the sources of violence in Chicago: you will be subject to the full weight of the Department and our partners in law enforcement," he said in a statement. "Put simply, violence this summer will not be tolerated."

The arrests were made particularly in two targeted districts in the city, the 11th and the 15th, both of which were deemed among the city's most violent districts.

In addition to the arrests, police said 23 weapons, $45,000 worth of narcotics, 278 packs of unstamped cigarettes and $7,000 in currency were confiscated.

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