The gang is suspected of selling marijuana and Ecstasy in Alameda, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Contra Costa and Solano counties, attorney general's office spokeswoman Rebecca MacLaren said.
State, local and federal authorities are holding a news conference in Fremont this afternoon to discuss the sweep, which was carried out at 22 locations in Fremont, Union City, Hayward, San Jose, Oakland, Vallejo and San Leandro.
About 1 ton of marijuana was confiscated from five grow houses in Vallejo and Hayward, and more than a dozen firearms were seized - including AK-47s, Uzis and sawed-off shotguns - along with $100,000 in cash, MacLaren said.
Suspected gang leader Luc Tien Tran, 21, of San Leandro, was among those arrested, she said.
The sweep was led by the state Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement with the assistance of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Participating agencies included the federal Department of Justice, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FBI.
Local agencies included the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, the California Highway Patrol, and police from Fremont, San Leandro, Vallejo, Hayward and Oakland.
The 16 people arrested were booked into Santa Clara County Jail.
