Harris County raid nets 2 arrests, 31 guns in gang drug probe

A joint law-enforcement sweep in Southwest Houston turned up 31 firearms, methamphetamine, Xanax and other narcotics after Harris County deputies and federal partners hit two locations tied to the La Primera gang.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said the morning operation on April 29 targeted members of La Primera who were allegedly moving kilogram quantities of methamphetamine through connections to Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, often called CJNG. Two suspects were arrested during the coordinated enforcement action, which HCSO said involved multiple agencies working together in Houston.

Sheriff Ed Gonzalez praised the operation as a public-safety win, underscoring how local and federal investigators are increasingly pairing gang cases with drug-trafficking probes. The seizures were substantial enough to show the scale of the network authorities say they were confronting: a cache of 31 guns alongside methamphetamine, Xanax and other narcotics.

La Primera has long been identified by Stop Houston Gangs as a Houston-area gang with activity in southwest Houston, giving the raid added weight for neighborhoods already wary of violence, narcotics trafficking and weapons tied to street crews. HCSO’s account suggests the case was not just about low-level possession, but about a distribution pipeline reaching from Southwest Houston into a larger cartel-linked supply chain.

The arrests also fit a wider pattern across Harris County, where local, state and federal agencies have stepped up gang and narcotics enforcement against crews accused of carrying guns, selling drugs and using Houston’s sprawling southwest corridor as a base of operations. With two suspects now in custody and dozens of firearms off the street, investigators say the takedown removed both firepower and a drug distribution node from the area.