Ghost weapons, assault rifles, high-capacity magazines, ammunition, and a guitar case the place weapons had been hidden recovered from an Elmhurst storage defendants used to retailer weapons
Photograph credit score: Workplace of Lawyer Common Letitia James
5 individuals had been named in a whopping 625-count indictment unsealed on July 31 for his or her alleged roles in a gun trafficking operation that bought dozens of ghost weapons, assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and tons of of rounds of ammunition in Queens.
An investigation led by Lawyer Common Letitia James’ Organized Crime Job Power (OCTF) recovered 86 firearms – together with 55 ghost weapons and 25 assault weapons – together with over 90 high-capacity magazines and tons of of rounds of ammunition.
James stated the people concerned within the operation transported 3D-printed ghost weapons assembled in Nassau County and serialized firearms bought in Indiana into Queens, the place they had been saved and bought.
“When gun traffickers flood neighborhoods with untraceable firearms, they gas violence that tears communities aside,” she stated. “This investigation efficiently stopped a harmful gun trafficking operation by eradicating dozens of ghost weapons and assault weapons from our streets.:
AG James stated the takedown was the results of a joint investigation between OCTF, Homeland Safety Investigations (HSI) New York, and the NYPD.
She stated the investigation included managed firearms buy operations, covert video surveillance, social media monitoring, and evaluation of monetary and phone data.
James stated the investigation started in late 2023 and centered on the actions of Satveer Saini and his associates, Mateo Castro-Agudelo, Hargeny Fernandez-Gonzalez, Adam Youssef Senhaji-Rivas, and Milanjit Sidhu.
The legal professional basic stated Saini, Fernandez-Gonzalez, and Senhaji-Rivas paid over $27,000 to buy firearms from Indiana, which has much less restrictive gun legal guidelines than New York.
Early within the investigation, she stated Saini and Castro-Agudelo had been driving from Indianapolis to Queens with weapons bought in Indiana, after they had been stopped for rushing by the Ohio State Freeway Patrol in Medina County, Ohio.
James stated the cease recovered 9 unloaded serialized handguns from inside Saini’s rental automotive. From this level, she stated, Fernandez-Gonzalez started paying Sidhu to drive weapons from Indianapolis to Queens.
The legal professional basic stated Fernandez-Gonzalez additionally purchased 3D-printed ghost weapons in Nassau County and introduced them to Queens for different members of the trafficking ring to promote.
Saini, Castro-Agudelo, and Senhaji-Rivas all bought trafficked firearms, high-capacity magazines, and ammunition through the course of the investigation, James stated.
She stated Saini bought these firearms in varied areas in Queens, together with on the Louis C. Moser Playground in Jackson Heights on a weekday afternoon, and within the parking zone of the Queens Middle Mall in Elmhurst.
James stated Castro-Agudelo and Fernandez-Gonzalez used a storage in Elmhurst to retailer weapons, at one level hiding twelve firearms – together with seven ghost weapons – and quite a few high-capacity magazines inside a guitar case within the storage.
She stated Castro-Agudelo used the guitar case to move firearms and ammunition to his prospects. Not less than one of many firearms gross sales he made happened outdoors of a smoke store in Jackson Heights, the place he labored, James stated.
She stated Castro-Agudelo posted footage of those weapons on social media accounts, together with on a publicly out there X (previously Twitter) account, displaying most of the weapons and vital quantities of money.
James recognized the 5 indicted people as Hargeny Fernandez-Gonzalez, 20, of Richmond Hill; Satveer Saini, 20, of East Elmhurst; Adam Youssef Senhaji-Rivas, 20, of Astoria; Milanjit Sidhu, 20, of Greenwood, IN; and Mateo Castro-Agudelo, 21, of Lengthy Island Metropolis. They had been variously charged with fourth-degree conspiracy, first-degree prison sale of a firearm, and first-degree prison possession of a firearm.
The legal professional basic stated every of the 5 people has been charged with Felony Sale of a Firearm within the First Diploma and/or Felony Possession of a Firearm within the First Diploma, that are each class B violent felonies.
If convicted of 1 rely of both of those crimes, the defendants face a most sentence of 25 years in jail, James stated.
“The defendants are accused of amassing a cache of unlawful high-powered rifles, handguns, and semiautomatic weapons that would have undoubtedly been used to advertise violence and additional trigger irreparable devastation,” stated HSI New York Particular Agent in Cost Ivan J. Arvelo. “They allegedly displayed sheer disregard for the general public’s security, and positioned their very own egocentric achieve above all else. =”
“These prices spotlight legislation enforcement’s relentless efforts to rid our streets of untraceable ghost weapons and different unlawful firearms, resulting in New York Metropolis’s ongoing reductions in shootings and homicides this yr,” stated NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban.
