A group of illegal migrants involved in criminal activities along Queens’ Roosevelt Avenue has been dismantled. The gang, linked to the El Salvador-based “18th Street Gang,” engaged in extorting sex businesses, assaulting rivals, and selling drugs and fake IDs to fund their operations. Eight individuals have been federally indicted for their roles.

Authorities described how the gang, including members using aliases like “Pinocchio,” “Loco,” and “Tanke,” maintained control through violence—assaulting rivals with weapons and brutal attacks. Their turf included the notorious “Market of Sweethearts,” a stretch known for migrant sex work, heavily overrun by their influence.

Prosecutors allege the gang trafficked drugs, manipulated prostitution, and peddled forged documents, such as passports and driver’s licenses, to finance their racketeering. Several members, some here illegally, have been involved in violent assaults, including stabbings and beatings, as recent as June 2024. One member was found with an illegal firearm.

Among those indicted are Felix Ramos, Uriel Lopez, Refugio Martinez, Margarito Ortega, and others. Law enforcement notes the gang’s rivalry with MS-13 and links to other criminal enterprises, such as the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua, responsible for violent robberies and mob attacks, including against police officers.

The gang’s activity extends across the United States, with recent arrests like Javier Canas-Escobar in Virginia, who led authorities on a high-speed chase before deportation proceedings.

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Federal prosecutors highlighted the gang’s brutality: they beat rivals with bikes and chairs, stabbed victims, and smashed heads with bottles to maintain dominance in the area.

The indictment lists six gang members facing racketeering and firearm charges, with some involved in assaults and illegal gun possession. Law enforcement emphasizes these groups, like the 18th Street, are among several migrant-connected crime outfits operating in the city since 2022.

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Some gang members, like Felix Ramos and Uriel Lopez, are believed to have entered the U.S. illegally. Their criminal enterprise has strengthened the migrant-related crime landscape that law enforcement continues to monitor.

Law enforcement also links groups like Tren de Aragua to violent robberies and the illegal sex trade on Roosevelt Avenue, where women are forced into prostitution under threat of harm, despite repeated raids.