Los Angeles police detectives and gang-enforcement officers arrested 13 people in downtown Los Angeles on narcotics-related and other counts, Los Angeles police said on Wednesday.

The arrests were made yesterday in what police described as a "special enforcement operation" undertaken "partly due to a spate of shootings over the last couple months," said LAPD Lt. Paul Vernon.

Police conducted the operation near 7th and Main streets early yesterday, according to Vernon, who said police had information that a new group of drug dealers was vying for control in the area.

Police began the operation at the Huntington Hotel.

"The hotel has long been known as a place to buy and sell drugs out of the public eye," Vernon said. "So we searched records for anyone on parole or probation who was staying there, and only found one name."

He said that one person was not at the hotel when the operation began and -- as it turned out -- the 13 people arrested had no connections to the hotel.

"That's a good bit of news for all of us," he said. "It shows the hotel has tightened up on its security operations and is not now as much a harbor for criminals."

Police then focused on the sidewalks north and west of the hotel where drug dealing is common at night and where three shootings have occurred since May, he said.

Police also seized nearly 30 grams of narcotics and confiscated more than $200 in cash.

"While the arrests should help alleviate some of the tension and criminality on the block, the really good news is we found no guns among those arrested," Vernon said. "We were able to get some information related to the prior shootings, and we feel better about the perceived influence the Huntington Hotel is having on the area."

More such operations are planned for the future, he said.