A five-day sweep in Los Angeles County ended with 13 people arrested and 114 firearms seized, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Tuesday.
The sweep began on Feb.14 and sought to take firearms away from people no longer legally allowed to have them.
Agents teamed up with local police in L.A., Azusa, Pasadena and Pomona, as well as the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department to target people in 51 cities throughout the region.
The more than 100 firearms seized included 17 assault weapons, 8 ghost guns, 19 rifles, 55 handguns and 15 shotguns, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
Officers also found 49,148 rounds of ammunition, and 87 high-capacity magazines.
The effort is tied to a 2006 state system that lets California track firearm owners who fall into a prohibited status. California was the first and only state to set up such a system.
The database identifies people who purchased firearms legally and later became prohibited from owning or possessing them — like convicted felons, people placed under domestic violence or other restraining orders, or those who suffer from serious mental illness.
“California’s Armed and Prohibited Persons System is a critical tool that makes the work of cracking down on illegal gun ownership and possession possible,” Bonta said in a statement.
The arrests and seizures announced Tuesday were a result of investigators following leads in 439 cases in dozens of cities across the county.
A similar sweep in the Bay Area in January resulted in the seizure of 30 firearms and eight arrests.
“Collaborative efforts like these increase our success in taking guns out of potentially dangerous hands, reducing gun violence, and keeping our neighborhoods safe,” Bonta said.