The FBI and NYPD has made 36 gang-related arrests in East Harlem after storming three housing buildings in a series of pre-dawn raids.

The men and women, aged between 19 and 51, are alleged to have been involved in drug trafficking and were part of two heavily armed inner city gangs, CBS New York reported.

Police say they were responsible for sales of crack cocaine, prescription pills and marijuana, while they were also linked to assaults, robberies, and the death of NYPD officer Randolph Holder last year.

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A woman is led from one of the housing estates in Harlem during the predawn raids earlier this week

Soldiers patrol the area following the raids in which 36 people were arrested by the NYPD and FBI

Police said those arrested were members of gangs that were dealing drugs in their communities

The officers swamped the Washington Houses, the Metro North Plaza Houses and the Lexington Houses yesterday morning, according to the New York Post.

A source told the paper the raids were the culmination of a year-long investigation carried out by the two agencies.

Preet Bharara , a U.S. attorney, announced the indictments, stating: 'For far too long, NYCHA residents have had to live with drug dealing and violence as part of their everyday lives,' NBC News reported.

He claimed the alleged gang members sold drugs at schools and hospitals, and 'protected their lucrative businesses with guns and violence'.

Randolph Holder, 33, was killed in the line of duty on October 20 last year as police responded to reports of gunshots fired and an armed man fleeing on a pedestrian overpass in East Harlem.