Dozens of people linked to the Los Angeles-based white supremacist gang have been arrested on federal drug and gun trafficking charges

Dozens of suspected members of the San Fernando Valley Peckerwoods, a Los Angeles-area white supremacist gang linked to the Aryan Brotherhood, were arrested and indicted Wednesday as part of a federal investigation on drug and gun trafficking charges and fraud.

A federal indictment unsealed Wednesday charges 68 members with racketeering activities, including drug trafficking (including fentanyl), illegal firearm possession, and COVID-19 benefits and loan fraud.

Federal prosecutors described the SFV Peckerwoods as a violent street gang that occasionally took orders from the Aryan Brotherhood, California's dominant prison-based white supremacist gang.

Members have been known to use Nazi tattoos, graffiti and other iconography to reinforce their ideology.

Federal prosecutors accuse Peckerwoods members of using violence and the threat of violence to maintain and expand the gang's criminal activities and foster a climate of fear for nearly a decade.

Alleged takeover of Aurora, Colorado apartments by Venezuelan gangs began in 2023: report

Members trafficked fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine to generate income.

The indictment names lead defendant Claire Patricia Haviland, 62, of Chatsworth, California, and co-defendants Brian Glenn Ekelund, 53, of Chatsworth, and Brianne Brewer, 38, of North Hollywood, California.

The indictment accuses these individuals of maintaining and supervising drug warehouses in which illegal narcotics were stored before distribution. Haviland and Ekelund allegedly sent the drugs to customers by mail and used applications such as Zelle and CashApp to send and receive money.

EL PASO ON high alert as a dangerous Venezuelan gang described as “MS-13 on steroids” invades the US

Members also earned income through robberies and financial fraud, including by participating in identity theft schemes. In one such program, some members submitted fake applications for the Paycheck Protection Program, which was intended to assist struggling businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department has dealt a “decisive blow” to the Peckerwoods in the San Fernando Valley (SFV).

Dozens of members of the San Fernando Valley Peckerwoods white supremacist gang in Los Angeles face drug trafficking charges. (DOJ)

“With today's indictments and arrests, the Department of Justice, along with our state, local and federal partners, has targeted the core of this gang's operations, and we will continue to focus on the criminal enterprises that endanger our communities,” Garland said in a statement .

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The members and associates arrested Wednesday were expected to be arraigned in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles. Everyone faces life in prison if convicted.