254 Guns Seized, 19 Smugglers Busted By NYPD

The New York Police Department said it seized 254 guns and apprehended 19 smugglers, including Brooklyn’s rising rapper Matthew Best, in the agency's largest weapon bust to date.

254 Guns Seized (Photo: NYPD)

The rapper's social media accounts said to have served as a breakthrough in the investigation as he posted several pictures and videos of guns and hard cash. Wiretapping of Best reportedly led to the discovery of the illegal operation and subsequently, an undercover agent was embroiled to the scene posing as a gun broker and gathered more evidences.

According to the authorities, two of the defendants, Walter Walker of North Carolina and Earl Campbell of South Carolina, obtained guns from their respective hometowns where gun-related law restrictions are loose. These weapons were transported to New York via low-cost Chinatown buses to avoid security checks. The said guns varied in sizes and from small guns to rifles and machine guns.

The 19 illegal gun dealers were charged with "crimes including conspiracy, selling firearms and weapons possession in a 552-count indictment filed by the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor."

"This case underscores some disturbing truths; that illegal guns proliferate and circulate in higher crime, majority-minority neighborhoods, and that every day, New York City police officers must perform incredibly dangerous work to prevent guns from getting into criminal hands," Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said Monday. "Some people don’t want to think about who, and how many victims, might have suffered, had the NYPD not identified and intercepted these gun traffickers. But the eventual consequences are too costly for law enforcement to not intervene."

The Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg is glad of this development saying that "there is no doubt that the seizure of these guns has saved lives."