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We don’t think Nicki Minaj quite had this in mind when she began calling her legion of fans “Barbies.”

In an ongoing joint effort by the New York Police Department and federal authorities to curb gang violence, “Operation  Patria” helped to take down up to as many as 50 members linked to the violent Bronx Trinitarios Gang (BTG). NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly was shocked, however, to learn that an all-female gang known as the “Bad Barbies” were just as vicious as their male counterparts reports New York Daily News

“We weren’t surprised to learn that the Trinitarios were up to no good in the Bronx,” Commissioner Kelly at a Wednesday press conference. “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.”

Among the accused BTG gang members, the Feds nabbed the leader of the Bad Barbies, Maria Mejia. The 24-year-old Mejia pleaded not guilty in connection to a fatal shooting of a rival gang banger in 2005. The BTG has been tied to nine murders and 24 attempted murders since the investigation into the crews began in 2009; “Operation Patria” was the second such coordinated onslaught on the gangs according to an ICE report.

Commissioner Kelly also quipped at the conference that the BTG once had over 100 female members in its ranks, with several splinter factions within the larger whole. NYPD has been getting tougher on gangs overall, as cops in Brooklyn busted up a Bushwick gang known as the “True Bosses Crew” after a detective made friends 24 of the members via Facebook.

Photo: NY Daily News