Police have arrested three Madera men on felony charges of possessing illegal weapons and engaging in criminal street gang activity.
The arrests come as police are dealing with an increase in murder and other crimes against persons.
The east side of the city has recently been flooded by sporadic waves of violence, some of it gang-related shootings. Six murders have been recorded this year, a sharp increase over the two homicides for all of 2009.
Police said they had been interviewing sources for information on drugs and gangs in the community all year. But residents, more frightened now by the latest violence, had come forward to give evidence.
