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NYPD Takes Down Street Gang With Female Faction Called 'Bad Barbies'

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The NYPD announced Wednesday that it has taken down a street gang with female factions that went by names such as "Bad Barbies" and "One Seven Hoes."

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Wednesday that at its height, the Trinitarios gang had up to 100 female members. He said one was a 24-year-old involved in the fatal retaliatory shooting and in the shooting of a robbery victim outside a Mexican restaurant.

"When this investigation started last year, we weren't surprised to learn that the Trinitarios were up to no good in the Bronx. But the Bad Barbies? Who knew?" Kelly said. "Maybe it's a sign of the times that gender is no bar when it comes to murder, robbery and other crimes."

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said the gang would turn the streets in a "shooting gallery" if anyone infringed on its drug dealing or gun running.

As a result of the investigation that led to the takedown of the gang, Bad Barbies leader Maria Mejia was charged with murder in aid of racketeering in connection with the stabbing of a Crips gang member at a McDonald's on Jerome Avenue in the Bronx in 2005.

She was also charged in an incident last June where she allegedly lured a robbery victim to the front of a Mexican restaurant, where he was shot, Kelly said.

"Violence among men and women alike" by the gang is directed at rival gangs, including the Crips and Dominicans-Don't-Play, Kelly said. There has also been violence among Trinitario members themselves, he said.

The investigation of the gang has resulted in arrests of 119 people in the Bronx and Manhattan since 2009.

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(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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