The Feds are after an LA gang with ties to the Mexican Mafia; 16 suspects were arrested

Police have arrested 16 suspected members of the Puente-13 – a violent gang in the San Gabriel Valley known for killing “greenlighted” by the Mexican Mafia, kidnapping enemies and smuggling large amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl, authorities said.

The suspects were arrested Wednesday on federal charges that they are involved in kidnapping, two shootings, illegal gun sales and drug trafficking, according to the US Department of Justice.

The complaints mention 20 members of the accused and their associates, three of them are still at large and one was already in government custody. The main defendants are Larry Castillo, 42, also known as “Lil Dee,” of Victorville; Soo Kang, 31, aka “Easy,” from Koreatown; and Bryan Gordian-Padilla, 24, aka “Goon,” of West Covina.

Authorities said others arrested Wednesday have nicknames including “Pollo,” “Ghost,” “Snowbella,” “Lil Speedy” and “Monkey.”

During the investigation, authorities seized 71 guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition, prosecutors said. They seized thousands of pills containing fentanyl and carfentanil — a synthetic drug more than 100 times as potent as fentanyl by weight — and 10 pounds of methamphetamine.

In addition to drug trafficking and illegal gun sales, the complaints link alleged Puente-13 members to three violent crimes – a December 2022 shooting of rival gangs at a Covina residence; the July 2023 abduction of two victims, one of whom was beaten with a metal pole; and the May 2025 shooting outside a La Puente brewery.

Puente-13 is a Latino street gang that formed in the early 1950s in La Puente, according to an affidavit filed in the complaints.

Over the years, it has grown its membership to about 600 associates and its location in the communities of Hacienda Heights, Walnut, Industry, Pomona and West Covina, the affidavit states. There are at least 14 known subsets, or “clusters,” with names like Ballista Street, Blackwood Street, Northam Street and Dial Avenue, taken from the neighborhoods where the leaders live.

The “13” in the gang’s name indicates its association with the Mexican Mafia, as the letter “M” is the 13th letter in the alphabet. The Mexican Mafia emerged from within the prison system to control and direct the activities of Southern California Latino street gangs, according to an affidavit.

“Mexican Mafia leaders issued directives and orders, including orders to kill rival gang members, known as ‘green lights,'” the affidavit states. “Those orders were to be issued by gang members in California, including members of the Puente-13, and the members of the Puente-13 were understood to be opportunities for higher status.”

Mexican Mafia leaders also collected a portion of Puente-13 members’ profits from drug and gun sales as a form of tax, the affidavit said.

As part of the investigation, undercover informants and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives purchased drugs and firearms from suspected gang members, according to the complaints.

ATF led the investigation with assistance from the Covina Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, West Covina Police Department, California Highway Patrol and Baldwin Park Police Department.

If convicted as charged, nine of the 20 defendants face multiple life sentences, prosecutors said.

Wednesday’s arrest follows a similar incident in October when federal agents arrested several members of the Mafia-linked Mexican gang Rancho San Pedro in the Los Angles Harbor Area. In that case, 13 people were charged with being part of a criminal enterprise and conspiracy to acquire and distribute illegal drugs.