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NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors say 24 people have been arrested for a gun running operation that took advantage of Virginia's loose laws to funnel weapons to New York.
An undercover officer In New York City bought 217 assault weapons, tommy guns and handguns which were ferried by sellers on buses. Prosecutors said the guns were bought in many different Brooklyn neighborhoods and were sold for up to $1,200 for a handgun and up to $2,200 for an assault weapon. Prosecutors said it was the largest number of guns purchased in one operation in Brooklyn.
Authorities say traffickers were caught on wiretaps bragging about their ability buy guns for resale. They used code words like "chopper" and "joint" to peddle the weapons. Ammunition was "food."
Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez says 24 people were arrested, mostly in Virginia. One person was from Brooklyn, and one from Washington, D.C. They are charged in an indictment alleging a conspiracy to bring up to a dozen guns illegally into New York City at a time.
%@AP Links
204-a-06-(Kenneth Threatts, gun defendant, in wiretapped phone call)-"what I'm saying"-Defendant Kenneth Threatts is heard talking on a phone call recorded by authorities about running guns from Virginia to New York City. (8 Mar 2017)
<<CUT *204 (03/08/17)££ 00:06 "what I'm saying"
202-w-33-(Warren Levinson, AP correspondent, with Antwan Walker, gun defendant)--Brooklyn prosecutors say they've broken up a large Virginia-to-New-York gun ring, and they have the tapes to prove it. AP correspondent Warren Levinson reports. (8 Mar 2017)
<<CUT *202 (03/08/17)££ 00:33
203-a-09-(Antwan Walker, gun defendant, in wiretapped phone call)-"give guns away"-Defendant Antwan Walker boasted in a call wiretapped by authorities about going into a Virginia gun store and filling ten vans with guns. (8 Mar 2017)
<<CUT *203 (03/08/17)££ 00:09 "give guns away"
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