The Kings County D.A.'s office has announce that 24 suspects, many of whom are associated with Bloods gangs in Virginia and Brooklyn, have been charged with gun trafficking and other crimes. The 627-count indictment-- what officials are calling the "biggest gun bust in Brooklyn history"-- took place on Wednesday, March 8, NBC news reports.
NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill and Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a joint news briefing, "By removing each of these guns from the streets we have prevented numerous crimes," Gonzalez said. "We are going to go after anyone who brings illegal firearms into our city and into our borough."
AK-47s, AR-15s and MAC-10s were among the more than 200 illegal firearms which were seized during Wednesday's arrest. The investigators also recovered Glocks, several handguns of various calibers, as well as extended ammunition magazines and 50 round ammunition drums.
From June 2016 to February 2017, while sometimes traveling on the bus, the suspects allegedly brought up a dozen guns illegally into New York City at a time. The defendants are now facing an indictment for conspiracy to sell guns purchased in Virginia to a purchaser in Brooklyn.
According to the authorities, sales took place in several Brooklyn neighborhoods including Boerum Hill, Bedford- Stuyvesant, Fort Greene and Sunset Park.
The District Attorney's Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau is leading the prosecution.
