Baltimore, Maryland – Nine individuals linked to a Baltimore County-based MS-13 clique face federal RICO conspiracy charges, alleging years of firearms, drug trafficking and robbery activity.
According to Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, the superseding indictment targets members and associates of Los Ghettos Criminales Salvatruchas (LGCS), an MS-13 clique operating in Baltimore County and beyond.
The defendants include alleged LGCS leader Melvin Benites Moreno, 19, also known as “El Salvador,” along with Kevin Melendez Serrano, 23; Pina Verde, 22; and six others ranging in age from 18 to 23. Several are from Owings Mills, Baltimore, or Dundalk, while others are from Honduras or El Salvador.
Federal prosecutors allege Benites Moreno continued leading LGCS even while incarcerated in New Jersey, directing firearms trafficking, drug distribution, money laundering and violence. Court documents state members trafficked methamphetamine and marijuana and committed robberies and assaults, including one incident in September 2025 in which a handgun was allegedly racked and pressed against a victim’s head.
Investigators allege that from January through October 2025, several defendants conspired to possess and traffic firearms despite being prohibited from owning them. Authorities also allege narcotics were stored at an Owings Mills apartment used for gang operations.
The case is part of the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Task Force initiative and Operation Take Back America, targeting transnational criminal organizations.
An indictment is an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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