3 members of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua indicted following NYPD gun trafficking operation
NEW YORK -- Police say several members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua were arrested in the Bronx on Tuesday as part of a first-of-its-kind gun trafficking operation.
Three were indicted Wednesday.
CBS News New York cameras were in the courtroom as two of the defendants, 27-year-old Wrallan Meza and 24-year-old Rosemary Sanchez, a mother of an infant who prosecutors say helped to negotiate some of the deals, were arraigned.
- Read more: ICE agents in NYC area take at least 20 people into custody in early morning operation, sources say
Operation Trail Derail
During a news conference, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz discussed Operation Train Derail, a gang and gun trafficking takedown in the Bronx and Manhattan on Tuesday.
Police say several members of the Venezuelan gang were arrested and 34 firearms were seized, including semi-automatic pistols, a ghost gun and two assault rifles.
"NYPD detectives have successfully intercept and shut down a significant Tren de Aragua pipeline of guns into New York City," Tisch said.
"They bought from friendly states. They relied on use of rental vehicles to come up the iron pipeline and sell them to people in the city of New York," Katz said. "All 10 of them are charged with conspiracy to possess and sell illegal firearms in New York City."
Tisch and Katz said it was a year-long operation, adding many of the transactions were in Queens in residential and shopping areas in broad daylight.
"Six of the guns were reported stolen from other states -- Colorado, Pennsylvania and Texas," Tisch said.
"Several of the indicted defendants are also indicted on charges of selling and possession of Tusi, a pink cocaine," Katz said.
Officials say there is a video advertising the sale of illegal guns.
"This comes on the heels of the NYPD's participation in yesterday morning action with our federal partners," Tisch said.
The three defendants who were in court Wednesday pleaded not guilty. If convicted, they face a minimum of 25 years in prison. They will remain behind bars until their next court date, on March 12.