NEW YORK – Authorities said Friday they’ve broken up a major gun trafficking ring in Queens.
A sprawling 259-page, 579-count indictment charges Deundre Wright, 22, Abner Sparkes, 31, and Ethan Charles, 22, with trafficking and selling 184 guns in Queens. Authorities allege the weapons include assault rifles, pistols, high-capacity magazines and ammunition. Authorities say the investigation took place between March and July of this year.
According to authorities, Wright would take a bus from Chinatown to North Carolina and back. Once in North Carolina, he’d allegedly buy guns and pack them in his luggage. When he returned to the Big Apple, he allegedly stashed the guns at friends’ homes, and Sparkes would sell them from a car in Queens for $1,000-$2,500 per gun, according to authorities.
Inoperable rocket-propelled grenade launcher seized
Wright and Charles were arrested back in August as they got off a bus in Manhattan. They were allegedly carrying 41 guns, including an inoperable rocket-propelled grenade launcher, in their luggage.