CHICAGO, Aug. 20 (UPI) — Chicago police arrested 101 people, most on felony drug and weapons charges, in 36 hours as part of a sweep targeting gangs in some of the city’s most violent neighborhoods, officials said.
The arrests are the result of a six-week investigation by the Police Department’s Bureau of Organized Crime. Deputy Chief Anthony Riccio said the department is planning to make another 105 arrests in the next week.
“What we try to do is target the worst areas and some of the busiest districts and take down some of the gang members who were operating in those districts and driving the violence,” Riccio said.
Most of the arrests took place in the South and West sides of Chicago. Out of the 101 people arrested, 61 are documented gang members, police said.
“The route we took is attacking them through the sale of narcotics,” Riccio said. “Narcotics is what funds these gangs.”
Chicago is facing some of the worst violence in recent years, with a 50 percent rise in homicides and a 48 percent rise in shooting incidents from this time last year.
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