In a major crackdown on organized crime, federal officials have announced the arrests of 13 individuals linked to a violent Armenian crime syndicate based in Los Angeles County, as reported by KTLA. Among those arrested are two reputed leaders of the group, Ara Artuni, 41, of Porter Ranch, and Robert Amiryan, 41, of Hollywood, whose power struggle has led to a series of violent crimes, including attempts at murder and kidnapping.
The feud between these alleged "avtoritet", a Russian term signifying authority within organized crime, appears to have been a battle for control over the San Fernando Valley, a struggle that initiated a violent vendetta resulting in Artuni reportedly ordering the murder of Amiryan in the summer of 2023; however, Amiryan survived and is said to have countered by conspiring to kidnap and torture an associate of Artuni's, according to a KTLA news release.
Furthermore, Artuni's organization, dubbed Artuni Enterprise, has been accused of stealing from Amazon to the tune of over $83 million by redirecting trucking shipments and selling the stolen goods, and running credit card schemes to defraud businesses out of cash before credit card companies could intervene, the U.S. Department of Justice reported. The arrests, which took place on May 20th, resulted in the seizure of cash, arms, and armored vehicles.
"This transnational criminal organization operated with the structure and brutality of an international cartel, inflicting significant harm on public safety and causing substantial damage to legitimate commerce and supply chains," said Homeland Security Investigations L.A. Acting Deputy Special Agent in Charge Dwayne Angebrandt, as he pegged the syndicate's activities squarely on the map of global crime networks. These operations span beyond simple street crime; these syndicates have structured hierarchies and international reach, aligning their modus operandi more with that of a cartel than a local gang. Angebrandt's words paint a picture of a sophisticated and far-reaching criminal enterprise, according to a KTLA statement.
