Police in New York City charged a gang of women known as the Bad Barbies with a series of crimes including murder.

Forty alleged members of a subgroup gang in the Bronx known as Trinitarios were charged and some arrested on Wednesday after a series of criminal charges forced police action with the help of federal investigators.

The Bad Barbies' supposed leader, 24-year-old Maria Mejia, was arrested by New York authorities and charged for assault, racketeering and the alleged murder of a rival gang member.

Mejia pleaded not guilty to the charges and is currently held without bail. Ed Wilford, Mejia's lawyer, claims the young woman is a homemaker who takes care of her sick mother. Wilford also said that law enforcement has acted inappropriately in her case by "castigat[ing] people charged with capital crimes by using loose language," according to New York Post.

Authorities were interested by the increased role of women in gang activity reported in the New York borough, but what they found was more than they realized.

"We weren't surprised to learn that the Trinitarios were up to no good in the Bronx," NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly said Wed., as reported by the New York Daily News. "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."

The all-woman group operates as part of the larger Trinitarios gang. A total of 119 people have been arrested in connection with the Trinitarios gang since 2009, according to a CBS report.

Not all of the gang has been apprehended as police believe there are still members at large and few may have fled the country to the Dominican Republic.

Some of the group members have gang names like Webb Killa, Machete, and Blood. The Bad Barbies are linked to around nine murders and 24 attempted murders across New York City. They have also been connected to drug violence, possession and distribution with prescription drugs, marijuana and cocaine, according to the Daily Mail.

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