Federal agents arrested 13 alleged members of rival Armenian crime unions enclosed in an apparent power struggle in the County of Los Angeles, according to the United States Ministry of Justice.
Among the more than a dozen people accused by federal prosecutors, there were the alleged leaders of the two factions: Ara Artuni, 41 and Robert Amaryan, 46. The battle for several years for the territory would have led to multiple attempts at murder and a kidnapping, according to the Doj.
After several raids in the county and southern Florida, the police arrested three other men who would have been involved in the program: Vahan Harutyunyan, 50, of Hollywood, in Florida; Levon Arakelyan, 45, from Las Vegas; And Ivan Bojorquez, 33 years old. The police seized three armed cars, 14 cannons and $ 100,000 in cash.
If they are found guilty of all accusations, men will face maximum sentences ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment.
“Today’s arrests reflect that my office and our law application of the law are determined to ensure America’s safety by dismantling transnational criminal organizations,” said the United States prosecutor Bill Essayli. “Leave the action of applying today’s law to be a warning to criminals: our communities are not your playground to engage in violence and relaxation.”
According to the Doj, Artuni and Armini and Armaryan, while their unions, which are affiliated with the transnational Russian mafia, have made the county of the center of their American operations, according to the Doj.
Federal prosecutors charged Artuni of having pretended to have allegedly sanctioned the attempted murder of Amaryan in the summer of 2023. Amiryan would have retaliated by plotting with its members to kidnap and torture one of the associates of Artuni in June 2023, according to the Doj.
Investigators also accuse the criminal business of Artuni of stealing more than $ 83 million in Amazon goods in the criminal complaint against him. According to the DoJ, the alleged program targeting online retailers goes up at least 2021. The Associates of Artuni would have passed for carriers for Amazon and would steal all or part of their shipments.
“This transnational criminal organization has worked with the structure and brutality of an international cartel, inflicting significant public security damage and causing substantial damage to legitimate trade and supply chains,” said Dwayne Angebrandt, an interim special assistant agent in charge of internal security surveys.
