In an early Thursday morning sweep through Orange and Los Angeles counties, federal authorities arrested 25 members and associates of the Mexican Mafia on suspicion of “committing scores of crimes in Orange County,” with some suspected of involvement in a homicide at an Anaheim motel last year, authorities said in a statement.
The alleged crimes also include kidnapping, extortion, trafficking fentanyl and methamphetamine, and running illegal gambling businesses, federal authorities said.
“The defendants accused of operating their own ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ in Orange County by peddling illicit drugs and carrying out assault and murders, among other crimes, are being held accountable today,” said Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, in the statement.
Hours after the Thursday, April 23, sweep, officials held a press conference about the case at the United States Attorney’s Office inside the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Santa Ana.
Among those arrested Thursday were:
— Jaime Alvarado, 42, also known as “Junior” and “Brian Barbas,” of Lake Elsinore
— Karina Cesena, 32, of Lake Elsinore
— Mario Flores, 40, a.k.a. “Happy,” of Anaheim
The three defendants were identified as high-ranking associates for Luis Cardenas, a.k.a. “Gangster,” “Pops,” and “Tio,” an inmate at Ironwood State Prison who allegedly directed the defendants to carry out orders in operation of the Mexican Mafia’s activities in Orange County, authorities said. Cardenas allegedly oversaw the activities from June 2024 to April 2026.
Jose Antonio Ochoa Madrigal, 41, of Santa Ana, a.k.a. “Sparky,” was also identified as a senior gang member allegedly involved in the crimes and was already in custody in Orange County jail, authorities said.
Alvarado allegedly oversaw gang-controlled motels, authorities said. With Cesena, he allegedly directed violent retaliation against slap houses, or gambling houses, that did not pay the gang’s “taxes.”
In one case, on Feb. 2, 2025, two other defendants — Matthew Kundrat, 29, of Anaheim and Manuel Ramos, 45, of Santa Ana — allegedly murdered a victim at a gang-controlled motel on Orangethorpe Avenue near Raymond Avenue to increase their standing within the gang, federal authorities said.
On March 14, 2025, Cardenas, Alvarado, Flores and Cesena allegedly ordered a victim at a slap house in Stanton to be kidnapped and assaulted, authorities said. Alvarado and Cesena allegedly stored methamphetamine and firearms at a storage unit in Orange County and at private homes.
Of the 25 arrested, 15 were anticipated to appear in federal court in Santa Ana, while 10 were scheduled to appear in federal court in Los Angeles.
Twelve others allegedly involved in the crimes were already in state custody and expected to appear in federal court in the coming weeks, authorities said.
In addition to the arrests, authorities seized four kilograms of fentanyl, more than 54 kilograms of methamphetamine, nearly one kilogram of heroin, three kilograms of cocaine, 25 firearms and more than $30,000 in cash, authorities said.
In all, there are 66 charges against about 40 defendants, some who are accused of assaulting people in bad standing with Cardenas, selling narcotics through slap houses, gangs and drug dealers in Orange County, and running illegal gambling businesses within strip malls and private residences, authorities said.
Some of the defendants are not in custody.
The Mexican Mafia is a U.S.-based prison gang that has control over Hispanic street gangs in Southern California and usually directs illegal activities from prisons while collecting a portion of the proceeds from drug trafficking, illegal gambling and other crimes, federal authorities said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.