Dozens of Crips Arrested in LAPD Sting Dubbed "Operation Thumbs Down"
Los Angeles police arrested about three dozen alleged members of the Rollin' 30s Harlem Crips (a.k.a. Ice-T's former gang) yesterday on federal and state charges related to gang operations and drug dealing. It was the culmination of an investigation called "Operation Thumbs Down," a reference to a popular Rollin' 30s hand sign: two thumbs up.
The LA Times reports that investigators turned up an unspecified amount of drugs and guns after raiding homes and businesses in the early morning yesterday with 34 federal search warrants.
With an estimated membership of 700 to 1,000 members, the Rollin' 30s Crips are one of L.A.'s most infamous and oldest Crip sets, controlling an area of about two square miles in South L.A.
Part of the Operation Thumbs Down involved diving into Rollin' 30s members' social-media accounts, which turned up, among other things, the photo above of a little girl holding a massive rifle.