ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. — U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Monday he plans to use tactics similar to those used to take down the mob to get MS-13 gang members off the streets and into prison.
Sessions wants prosecutors to pursue all legal avenues, including racketeering, gun and tax laws, to target the gang.
An undercover agent sat down Tuesday with reporter Tina Terry to explain how the new strategy is already working here.
Detectives already know MS-13 and other major players in the drug trade are in the Charlotte area, and authorities said this federal change is already making it easier to fight them.
The gang is also active in Rowan County and can be linked to major drug deals involving the Mexican cartel, the detective, who did not want to be identified, said.
Rowan detectives made the county's largest heroin bust in February and it was linked to the cartel.
“If you have a gang that has established territory, there will be a direct connection with who has the supply,” the detective said. “What better way to go direct to the wholesaler? So, you end up with relationships between gang and cartel members. The administration's stance against gangs and drugs will help dismantle MS-13 and is already impacting other drug cases. There seems to be more of an emphasis at the federal level on prosecuting drug offenders.”
The federal government has adopted a dozen of the department's drug cases this year, which means the suspects could face longer sentences.
“I really feel we have the full backing of federal government now when, in the last several years, it's kind of not been that way. It's been a cold relationship. It seemed like, at points, from the top administration,” the detective said.
The Obama administration's less aggressive stance on drug offenders led to the early release of thousands of drug offenders last year, the detective said.