200 firearms seized in NY operation that busted Queens gun smuggling crew: Report

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Friday that a Queens-based gun smuggling crew was disbanded, resulting in the seizure of nearly 200 firearms, including 11 assault weapons.

According to QNS.comIn the 579-count indictment, 32-year-old Deundre Wright, 31-year-old Abner Sparkes and 22-year-old Ethan Charles are accused of trafficking and selling assault weapons, semi-automatic pistols, revolvers, high-capacity magazines and hundreds of bullets. The three face 25 years in prison.

The report noted that a multi-agency investigation seized 184 guns that were allegedly transported from North Carolina to Queens during the operation, according to prosecutors.

“The majority of gun crimes in New York City are illegally trafficked along the Iron Pipeline from other states with lax gun laws, fueling deadly gun violence in our communities,” James said. “This investigation shut down a massive gun smuggling operation that brought a large number of dangerous weapons, including assault weapons, from North Carolina to New York City in just a few months.”

The investigation revealed that Wright would travel by bus from Manhattan to North Carolina from March to July 2024 and store firearms in the trunk. The report stated that after Wright brought the guns to New York, he would take them to his friends’ houses and keep them parked near the houses.

The report stated that Wright would set prices between $1,000 and $2,500 per gun, while Sparkes, who would meet a customer in a car, conduct the sale in Cambria Heights and bring cash to Wright, who monitored the transactions at a nearby park.

“Today’s charges are a stark reminder that high-powered, illegal firearms continue to proliferate and circulate in our communities, and NYPD investigators and our law enforcement partners do the dangerous job of keeping these guns from falling into the hands of criminals on the street,” said NYPD Interim Commissioner Thomas Donlon.