Leader of women's gang dubbed the 'Bad Barbies' among 40 charged with string of murders across New York

Trinitarios gang accused of 9 murders and 24 attempted killings since 2003

'Leader of Bad Barbies splinter group murdered rival gang member in 2005'

Emergence of little-known female faction has even shocked investigators



Police chief: 'Maybe it's a sign of the times that gender is no bar to murder'

Authorities have arrested 119 people linked to Trinitarios in last three years



Dozens of members of a notorious New York gang including a splinter group of femme fatales known as the 'Bad Barbies' have been charged with a string of murders and attempted killings dating back to 2003.



The federal authorities have accused 40 members of the Bronx Trinitarios gang, whose members have nicknames like 'Webb Killa', 'Machete' and 'Blood', of nine murders and 24 attempted murders across the city.



The alleged leader of the all-female Bad Barbies, Maria Mejia, has been charged with murder, racketeering and assault.

Taken in: Investigators arrest alleged members of the New York drug trafficking gang the Bronx Trinitarios wanted on suspicion of a string of murders and attempted murders over the last nine years

The busty 24-year-old, who was hauled into a Manhattan federal court yesterday wearing red knee-high boots and black nail polish, is accused of gunning down a rival gang member in 2005.

Police claim Miguel Perez was killed in revenge for the execution of Trinitarios member, Gil Lanier, by the Dominicans Don't Play gang.

Her lawyer described her as a 'homemaker' who looks after her sick mother and claimed it was 'inappropriate for law enforcement to castigate people charged with capital crimes by using loose language.'

She pleaded not guilty and was held without bail.

The emergence of the Bad Barbies in the investigation came as a shock even to NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly.

Accused: The suspects have been arrested as part of a wide-ranging, multi-agency crackdown on gangs known as Operation Patria

He told The New York Post : 'We weren't surprised to learn that the Trinitarios were up to no good in the Bronx. But the Bad Barbies? Who knew?

'Maybe it's a sign of the times that gender is no bar when it comes to murder, robbery and other crimes.'

Kelly said up to 100 female gang members were connected with the Trinitarios 'at any given time' and said they were routinely embroiled in violence with rival groups.

The charges levelled at the gang include those for nine murders in The Bronx and Yonkers between 2005 and 2010, along with 24 assaults and attempted murders, extensive drug dealing and the use of firearms.

According to the indictment, the main player is named as Leonides Sierra, who allegedly ran the Trinitarios while serving time Attica state prison until being taken into federal custody last year.

Wide-ranging investigation: A U.S. district attorney points to the so-called 'map of mayhem' showing the locations of the murders and attempted killings allegedly committed by the Trinitarios across New York

Some members of the gang, made up mostly of Hispanics engaged in narcotics trafficking, were filmed by NBC4 as they were led away by agents from various agencies including NYPD and the DEA.

Police said 14 of the 40 accused Bronx Trinitarios were already in federal custody on previous charges, it was reported by the New York Daily News .

Ten of the defendants charged yesterday remained at large, including five who are believed to be in the Dominican Republic.

Over the past three years, police have charged 119 people allegedly connected with the Manhattan and Bronx Trinitarios.

Investigators said the gang dealt cocaine, prescription drugs and marijuana and used violence to protect its Bronx turf against rival gangs such as the Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings and Dominicans Don't Play (DDP).

The crimes in this case date back to 2003.

The investigation forms part of Operation Patria, a long-term collaboration between the Feds and local police to break up gangs.

The name Trinitarios is derived from the three main Dominican Republic revolutionaries that won independence from Haitian rule in 1844.

The New York gang was established in 1989 within the city's prison system and went on to spread onto the streets and within all five boroughs of New York City.