A major gun trafficking operation, which included purchases in the Lehigh Valley, has been dismantled.
On Wednesday, a group of local, state, and federal law enforcement officials – including Acting Attorney General Michelle Henry, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele, and Bucks County DA Matthew Weintraub - announced the dismantling of a gun trafficking organization that illegally obtained and sold 94 firearms in Pennsylvania.
According to a release from the Attorney General’s office, the weapons were purchased in eight counties, including Lehigh and Northampton.
The purchases were all “straw purchases,” where a person with a clean background buys firearms specifically on behalf of another individual who is often prohibited from legally purchasing a firearm.
The group also attempted to purchase an additional 23 firearms across the state. Officials said the weapons were illegally resold throughout the southeastern region of Pennsylvania.
Eight defendants, all from Philadelphia, were arrested on numerous felony charges related to the straw purchases of firearms, illegal transfer of firearms, and operating a corrupt organization.
Officials said the Montgomery County Detective Bureau initiated an investigation in June 2022 into illegal activities associated with the gun trafficking organization.
Law enforcement began following the multiple purchases of firearms by the defendants through the Electronic Record of Sale system and through hard copies of ATF and Pennsylvania State Police forms at gun stores.
Detectives used surveillance, interviews, information from law enforcement agencies, call detail records and cellphone downloads, social media analysis, records of cash transfers, inspection of forms used in purchasing firearms and other methods of investigation, according to the release.
Collaboration between law enforcement agencies and increased data sharing through initiatives like Track and Trace aided in uncovering the scale and interconnectedness of the widespread operation.
At a press conference announcing the dismantling, Henry said law enforcement will continue their efforts to recover the firearms, noting that “guns have no borders.”
“And the reality is that these firearms that were purchased in Pennsylvania showed up as far west as Pittsburgh, beyond our state borders of New York and Connecticut,” Henry said.
“These straw purchasers... went out and bought these guns with the intent to give it to individuals who were not permitted to own these guns by law, and then they were used in crimes.”
Officials say of the 94 total straw-purchased and illegally sold firearms, 29 were recovered.
(Original air-date: 2/24/23)
