Dozens of organized crime figures from the New York area were arrested Wednesday following an investigation of extortion of local garbage haulers, a federal official said.

More than 30 suspects in New York and New Jersey were taken into custody, said J. Peter Donald, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New York office.

Many of those arrested are suspected members of several of New York’s five organized crime families, a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation said.

The investigation focused on extortion and loan sharking schemes targeting private New York-area garbage haulers, the official said.

The New York Post, which first reported the arrests, said they began at around 5:00 a.m. EST (1000 GMT).

At least nine suspects were arrested in New York City, and the rest in suburban Westchester and Rockland counties and in New Jersey, a second official said.

The suspects are expected to be arraigned in Manhattan federal court Wednesday afternoon.

(Reuters)