Queens gun traffickers sold assault rifles, brought inoperable RPG to NYC, authorities say
NEW YORK - Authorities said Friday they've broken up a major gun trafficking ring in Queens.
A sprawling 259-page, 579-count indictment charges Deundre Wright, 22, Abner Sparkes, 31, and Ethan Charles, 22, with trafficking and selling 184 guns in Queens. Authorities allege the weapons include assault rifles, pistols, high-capacity magazines and ammunition. Authorities say the investigation took place between March and July of this year.
According to authorities, Wright would take a bus from Chinatown to North Carolina and back. Once in North Carolina, he'd allegedly buy guns and pack them in his luggage. When he returned to the Big Apple, he allegedly stashed the guns at friends' homes, and Sparkes would sell them from a car in Queens for $1,000-$2,500 per gun, according to authorities.
Inoperable rocket-propelled grenade launcher seized
Wright and Charles were arrested back in August as they got off a bus in Manhattan. They were allegedly carrying 41 guns, including an inoperable rocket-propelled grenade launcher, in their luggage.
"This investigation shut down a major gun trafficking operation that brought a flood of dangerous weapons, including assault weapons, from North Carolina into New York City in the span of just a few months," Attorney General Letitia James said.
"The removal of over 150 firearms, which includes numerous assault weapons and semiautomatic pistols, just made the streets of New York City and our neighborhoods safer," DEA New York Division Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino said.
"Today's charges are a stark reminder that high-powered, illegal firearms continue to proliferate and circulate in our communities, and that NYPD investigators and our law enforcement partners are doing the dangerous work of preventing them from getting into criminals' hands on the streets," NYPD Interim Commissioner Tom Donlon said. "Disrupting and dismantling gun trafficking networks is a top priority for our city."
The three men face charges of criminal sale of a firearm, criminal possession of a weapon, and conspiracy, and each face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.