Paul J. McNulty, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, announced today that a federal grand jury in Alexandria returned a 25-count indictment charging Cuong Gia Le, Phu V. Ho, Loc Tien Nguyen, Nam Nguyen, Nguyen Nguyen, Vu Hoang Nguyen, and Ky Truong Quach with numerous crimes related to Asian gang activity in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. The indictment and related arrests are the result of a two-year investigation of racketeering activity and related violent crimes committed by an Asian racketeering organization known as the “Oriental Playboys,” or “OPB.”

The indictment that was unsealed today was returned in early December 2003. It alleges that the seven defendants, along with ten individuals who have already pled guilty to related charges, were associates of OPB and that from August 2000 until July 2003, members of OPB engaged in numerous violent acts including murder, attempted murder, and robbery, as well as burglaries, the distribution of Ecstasy and crack cocaine, and credit card fraud.

The indictment charges Cuong Gia Le with racketeering, in violation of the federal “R.I.C.O.” law, numerous crimes of violence in aid of racketeering activity, numerous firearms charges, and conspiracy to affect commerce through robbery. The indictment specifically alleges that on May 13, 2001, Le shot and killed two individuals–Long Phi Nguyen and Binh Anh Luu–at the Majestic Crab House in Fairfax County, Virginia, and that the remaining six defendants helped Le avoid capture until he was arrested in July 2003 outside Seattle, Washington. The indictment further alleges that in the course of committing crimes, members of OPB specifically targeted and robbed Asian business owners in Virginia and Maryland, and that some robbery victims were threatened, restrained, and beaten by OPB associates.

Mr. McNulty said: “Violent gangs are a growing problem in Northern Virginia. Stopping their mayhem is a top priority.”

“Today’s unsealed indictment of the charges against seven members of the OPB illustrates the commitment of the FBI’s Washington Field Office and its law enforcement partners to extinguish the threat of gang violence and organized illegal activity in the Washington Metropolitan Area.” stated Michael A. Mason, Assistant Director-in-Charge, FBI, Washington Field Office.

The case was investigated by special agents, officers, and analysts from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the police departments of Fairfax County, Virginia, City of Falls Church, Virginia , and Montgomery County, Maryland. Additional investigative assistance was provided by the United States Marshals Service, and the Virginia Beach, Virginia, City of Alexandria, Virginia, and Baltimore County, Maryland, police departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys James L. Trump, Kimberly Riley Pedersen, and Michael Leiter.