Wiretap Leads to 23 Arrests in Richmond

Tapping phones saved lives in Richmond.

Law enforcement officials from local, county and federal crime-fighting forces released details Wednesday of a large-scale "wiretap" operation, in which five cell phones and a landline were targeted, according to the Contra Costa Times.

The listening operation netted 23 arrests, the newspaper reported -- and "prevented people from being killed or shot," according to District Attorney Mark Peterson.

The two-month program halted planned shootings, and also arrested members of "Deep C," a Richmond gang cops said is behind some shootings, the newspaper reported.

Since June, cops had intervened on several planned drive-by shootings that were retaliation for previous violence, according to the newspaper.

The violence centered in the Pullman Point Housing Complex, the newspaper reported.

The wiretapping captured conversations between the at-risk young men and social workers in a program called Operation Ceasefire. The Ceasefire workers heard of "orders to kill" from the men, who were subsequently arrested, the newspaper reported.

Operation Exodus, the wiretapping program, was a joint effort between Richmond police, the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the newspaper reported.