ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The leader of the FBI in Albuquerque gave KOB 4 rare insight into an investigation. 

On Wednesday, Special Agent in Charge Raul Bujanda said the Albuquerque gang Brew Town Locos is wreaking havoc in communities, and the FBI recently dealt a major blow to its operations. 

As KOB 4 reported earlier this month, FBI agents have tied the gang to hundreds of crimes, including at least six homicides last year in the city. That report included details like which drugs the gang deals and where they have based their operations. 

FBI agents said the Brew Town Locos have been around since the 1970’s, and the FBI’s investigation over the last few years has led to the arrest of more than 30 members. 

“They’re involved in a lot of different types of shootings that end up in homicides, killings,” Bujanda said. 

He said law enforcement arrested several of the gang’s members earlier this month during raids of their houses, though he wouldn’t say which members or how many. He said investigators found a lot of evidence. 

“It’s going to be drugs. It’s going to be guns, and it’s going to be all the other crimes associated with that, whether it’s kidnapping, whether it’s carjacking, whether it’s human smuggling,” Bujanda said. 

He said the gang members didn’t know law enforcement were coming, and the raids were successful. Some members are facing state charges, some federal. 

“It definitely hinders their operation,” Bujanda said. 

FBI agents had leads on some specific crimes they think these members committed, but they also think the evidence they grabbed will tie them to even more crimes. 

Bujanda said, even still, the arrests are not going to completely stop this illegal activity. 

“The downside to any time you go and you hit an organization and you impede their ability to continue to function is it creates a void, a void that’s going to be filled by another group that might have been competing with that group, in this case Brew Town Locos,” he said. 

Bujanda discussed some trends the FBI is seeing, including how young gang members are. Many more are teenagers compared to years past. 

“Now, juveniles are getting into this type of criminal activity at younger ages,” he said. “Blame it on many different things. They’re exposed to this at such a younger age. They feel that this is the thing they want to be, and they want to be that thing at an earlier age. They’re not even waiting until they’re done with high school.” 

Gangs know juveniles often don’t face as much jail time. Bujanda said, as a result, the FBI is trying to hit teens with federal charges, the same as an adult. 

Another trend is there are more groups in Albuquerque loosely associated. They’re not a full-fledged gang with tattoos. The FBI is tracking many of these groups, and Bujanda said they’re dealing drugs and committing crimes. 

Bujanda said the FBI investigation into the Brew Town Locos gang will continue. 

The FBI needs information from people. Anyone can contact them, and they will work to protect those people when needed.