Migrant gang Tren de Aragua and ‘associates’ racked up 517 NYC busts this year: sources

Members of nan vicious Tren de Aragua gang, its associates and suspected co-conspirators person been arrested 517 times citywide this twelvemonth – pinch a whopping 295 busts coming adjacent Midtown Manhattan’s celebrated tourer spots, crime stats reviewed by The Post reveal.

The NYPD has identified 41 migrant gangbangers successful nan Venezuelan unit — not including an affiliated younker unit and different associates — who unsocial amassed 143 arrests, pinch almost half nan bookings successful Midtown’s busiest unit neighborhoods since January, according to nan data.

But nan network’s scope goes overmuch farther, pinch affiliated pack Los Diablos de la 42 and different co-defendants — and cops judge location are much than 200 members of TDA still to beryllium documented.

“If you spell backmost 2 years — that’s astir erstwhile we deliberation they first started arriving — we’ve made 45% much arrests than we did 2 years ago,” a rule enforcement root said. “This is simply a pack that conspires to make money disconnected of committing crimes.”

Some 48% of nan arrests for nan 41 identified TDA members were successful 8 cardinal Manhattan precincts, which see landmarks for illustration Times Square, Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall.

In summation to nan 41 pack members identified by nan NYPD, TDA’s criminal web extends moreover beyond their ranks, sources said.

The pack has besides fixed commencement to a baby-faced offshoot pinch members arsenic young arsenic 11-years aged calling itself “Diablos de la 42” — which construe to “devils of 42nd Street.”

TDA, Diablos — and different “associates” and co-defendants — were arrested 517 times citywide done nan commencement of October, pinch 57% of those busts, aliases 295 arrests, coming successful Midtown, nan stats show.

“When you adhd associates and co-defendants that aren’t successful nan [NYPD gang] database, there’s 80 much individuals who are candidates for nan database, and perchance hundreds arsenic apprehension associates successful different crimes,” nan rule enforcement root said.

“When you facet successful those associates it’s 295 retired of 517 full arrests we took successful Midtown and neighboring precincts,” nan root said. “That’s TDA, [Diablos] and their associates. That’s 57% impacting crime successful nan 14th, 18th, 17th, 19th precincts. It’s not conscionable 1 area.”

Most of nan migrant arrests person been connected felony charges of robbery and expansive larceny, but besides see battle and car theft raps, nan information shows.

Among nan astir notorious TDA gangbangers busted successful nan metropolis is Bernardo Raul Castro Mata, 19, who allegedly admitted successful a hospital-bed confession that he was portion of a Tren robbery unit that posed arsenic nutrient transportation workers to propulsion disconnected equipped heists.

Castro Mata is now jailed connected attempted execution charges for allegedly shooting 2 NYPD cops.

Also connected nan NYPD Tren pack database are Kelvin Servita Arocha, 20, and Wilson Juarez, 22, portion of a mob of cowardly migrants who jumped 2 cops successful Times Square successful January and ran off.

Both were identified arsenic pack members amid nan outrage complete nan caught-on-video onslaught connected nan officers.

One troublesome personnel of nan inferior gang, dubbed “Little Devil,” was busted 11 times successful nether 5 months earlier he was yet locked up by a judge aft The Post revealed his exploits.

The teen terror, whose sanction is being withheld because of his age, crossed nan US separator successful Texas successful May 2023 and ended up surviving astatine nan Roosevelt Hotel successful Midtown pinch his mom earlier he allegedly went connected his robbery and larceny crime spree, according to sources and tribunal records.

The pint-sized thug is 1 of 5 teens identified arsenic Diablo members, sources said.

“As an agency, we’re not throwing conscionable anyone successful a database,” NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said. “We are disciplined pinch who we put successful nan database. We are alert of co-defendants pinch our TdA members and LDDL42 members, and we are vetting done our process. We conscionable don’t propulsion anyone successful there.”

The underaged Diablos person posed a peculiar problem for rule enforcement because of New York State’s lenient curen of younger criminal defendants.

The state’s “Raise nan Age” law, passed successful 2017, accrued nan property of criminal work to 18. Previously, youngsters arsenic young arsenic 16 could beryllium automatically tried successful big court.

In a scathing study past week, nan metropolis Department of Investigation revealed that nan Big Apple’s 2 juvenile detention accommodation are overwhelmed pinch much convulsive residents arsenic aged arsenic 21.

Also handcuffing cops are nan state’s 2019 criminal justness reforms, which, among different things, barred judges from mounting bail for astir crimes, including nan non-violent larceny and robbery charges that galore of nan migrant pack members are busted for.

Meanwhile, Tren has established a criminal foothold successful nan 5 boroughs, including weapon and supplier sales, chiefly a lethal fentanyl operation called Tussi, aliases “pink cocaine.”

Authorities person besides linked nan pack to activity trafficking, including a agelong a agelong of Roosevelt Avenue successful Queens known arsenic nan “Market of Sweethearts,” by forcing migrant women into prostitution to salary disconnected excessive smuggling fees.