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Taggers Arrested In Raids

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Raids resulting in 19 arrests were conducted Wednesday at locations in Palmdale, South Los Angeles, Hawthorne and Inglewood in an operation targeting a tagging crew that caused more than $200,000 worth of damage to buses and Metro trains.

Investigators served 17 arrest warrants and conducted a half-dozen probation compliance checks, culminating a six-month investigation of the BDSK tagging crew, which is suspected in more than 500 vandalism cases, said Lt. Vince Carter of the Sheriff's Transit Services Bureau.

Investigators arrested 14 men, one woman, and four male juvenile, Carter said. The tagging crew has affiliates in a wide geographical area stretching from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, he said.

The Los Angeles crew targeted buses and Metro Green Line trains, and much of the vandalism occurred near the Glenn Anderson (105) and Harbor (110) freeways, Carter said.

(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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