Authorities arrest 30 members of Vagos motorcycle gang

Thirty members of the Vagos motorcycle gang were arrested Wednesday in Riverside County, in an ongoing investigation against the group, which authorities described as “an extreme” threat to law enforcement officers.

The Vagos gang has also had a historic presence in the High Desert.

About 400 officers took part in the multiagency operation, targeting 73 locations and seizing weapons and illegal drugs, authorities said.

“They represent an extreme threat to law enforcement,” Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco said in an interview. “The goal is to eliminate this threat.”

Citing the ongoing investigation, Pacheco declined to say whether any members of the gang had planned to target law enforcement personnel.

In Lake Elsinore, authorities found a methamphetamine lab at the home of one of the Vagos members.

The Vagos have at least 600 members in the Western U.S., half of them in California, authorities said. About 100 members are in Riverside County.

Pacheco said the group, which he described as the largest motorcycle gang in California, should expect continued law-enforcement actions.

“This is just the beginning,” he said.