California State Sen. Leland Yee Arrested by FBI in Corruption Raids

A California state senator was arrested along with a former gang leader known as "Shrimp Boy" during a series of raids by the FBI in Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area on Wednesday.

State Sen. Leland Yee, who was lauded for fighting for government transparency, was brought into custody as a part of a public corruption probe after a series of raids by federal and gang task force authorities, stated the FBI, according to the LA Times.

Also arrested was Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow, an infamous San Francisco Chinatown figure who has been connected to the criminal gang Wo Hop To and has faced federal charges in the past.

Although FBI spokesman Peter Lee confirmed the arrests of Sen. Yee and Chow, he declined to discuss the charges due to an ongoing investigation.

Yee, a Democrat who is currently running for California secretary of state, was expected to appear in a federal courthouse in downtown San Francisco Wednesday afternoon, reports the Associated Press.

FBI agents searched Yee's state Senate office on Wednesday morning, which San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr described as a "massive" raid. "Hundreds of officers are involved in this," he said.

Yee, a 65-year-old politician, represents western San Francisco and San Mateo County and is best known publicly for his efforts to strengthen open records, government transparency and whistleblower protection laws.

Dan Lieberman, a spokesman for the senator, said that he had no comment, but that the senator's office would release a statement later on in the afternoon.