Assistant Police Commissioner John Venditto said a 25-year-old Victorian man was found lying on the road about 2am on Monday with multiple stab wounds to his chest.

He died shortly afterwards.

Police swarmed the area and made 13 arrests, including some people wanted over other matters.

After receiving further information later that morning, officers arrested four more men at Adelaide Airport who were attempting to travel to Victoria, bringing the total number of people charged to 17

A 17-year-old boy from Meadow Heights in Victoria has been charged with murder, aggravated affray and travelling under a false name.

An 18-year-old man from Victoria was charged with aggravated affray and travelling under a false name, while a 21-year-old man from Werribee, Victoria and a 16-year-old boy from St Albans, Victoria were both charged with aggravated affray.

All men were refused bail or did not apply for bail and will appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court today.

Venditto said police believed the fatal altercation was linked to Operation Meld, a crackdown targeting youth gangs.

“The theory at the moment is that this is an incident between two groups that know each other,” he told reporters.

“The threat to the public is there because they’ve got bladed weapons and other weapons and react with spontaneous acts of violence … 13 violent people are now in custody.”

He said police resources had already been increased in the city centre and community leaders were working with investigators to bring the gang problem to an end.

Police are also investigating a serious assault at Smithfield on Monday evening.

At about 5.45pm emergency services were called to a licenced premises on Main North Road after reports of a serious assault, where police found a man with severe facial injuries. .

The man was rushed to the Royal Adelaide Hospital in a serious but stable condition.

 – with AAP