Law enforcement officials have dismantled a sophisticated gun trafficking ring operating across Southeastern Pennsylvania, including in Bucks County, officials announced this week.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele, alongside Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry and representatives from several federal and local agencies, said the illegal operation was spearheaded by a group primarily based in Pottstown, Montgomery County. A total of nine people from Montgomery and Berks counties were arrested.
The crackdown followed a violent incident in February when Pottstown police responded to a stabbing at a local hospital involving 18-year-old Pottstown man. Initially believed to be an isolated incident over a small drug dispute, the investigation soon uncovered that the altercation took place in Berks County and was over an illegal firearm sale. The 19-year-old man, who is prohibited from owning a handgun due to his age, was found attempting to sell an untraceable firearm, officials said.
The investigation expanded and uncovered a network of nine individuals involved in various illegal firearm activities. Among them are a 27-year-old Birdsboro, Berks County, man who allegedly facilitated eight illegal firearm transfers.
The group specialized in both the illegal purchase of store-bought firearms and the manufacture of 3D-printed “ghost guns,” suppressors, and machine gun conversion devices, known as “switches,” police said.
A 28-year-old Boyertown, Berks County, man was identified as the operation’s 3D printing specialist, responsible for producing some untraceable firearms and accessories, police said.
Authorities said that the organization purchased firearms from gun stores across multiple counties, including Bucks County, to arm criminals while avoiding law enforcement detection. The stores used in Bucks County were not released by authorities.
Some guns were altered to become fully automatic and some were found to be used in various crimes, including road rage incidents, authorities said.
Police found that several of the guns were used in shooting incidents in the region.
Seventeen of the 31 firearms purchased by the group were recovered, authorities said.
“This criminal organization’s aim was to profit from providing criminals with firearms altered to achieve optimal destruction while avoiding law enforcement detection,” said Henry, the state’s top law enforcement official.
Steele, a longtime Montgomery County prosecutor, said multiple Montgomery County and Berks County law enforcement agencies, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office Gun Violence Task Force, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Philadelphia Field Office, Pennsylvania State Police, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service were involved in the regional probe.
The investigation used a number of techniques including cellphone data analysis, surveillance, and social media monitoring, to track and dismantle the gun trafficking operations, officials told reporters.
All defendants are facing multiple charges, including felony counts of participating in a corrupt organization and illegal manufacturing and sale of firearms.
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