US officials have cracked-down on the violent MS-13 gang, arresting 26 people for a range of crimes committed in three US states and El Salvador

The defendants face a variety of charges stemming from crimes committed between 2003 and June 2008 including four murders, narcotics distribution, robberies, illegal firearms possession, extortion, assault, intimidating witnesses and obstruction of justice, the Department of Justice said in a statement. The arrests followed the unsealing of a 55-count indictment from a federal grand jury in Charlotte, he said. A gang leader directed many of the activities from his prison cell in El Salvador, where he received money wired by gang members, the statement said. MS-13 is an extremely violent gang that originated in El Salvador and operates there and in Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico and throughout the United States. Many of the defendants were in the United States illegally, and two were additionally charged with re-entering the country unlawfully after having been deported.