When an imprisoned gang member used a contraband cellphone to ask Miguel Maciel Jr. if he wanted to make some money, the 18-year-old jumped at the offer.
The syndicate once relied on associates on the streets, but court data showed that smuggled phones have given imprisoned leaders greater control over drug deals.
Authorities arrested seven people Wednesday on federal drug and gun trafficking charges in an investigation of two Harbor-area gangs' ties to imprisoned members of the Mexican Mafia.