The New York Police Department arrested two gunrunners from the Carolinas who had been taking advantage of cheap fares and lax security found on discount buses to smuggle 254 weapons into New York City, according to the Associated Press.
A police sting operation of enormous proportions arrested 17 men in addition to the two smugglers for trafficking a staggering 254 weapons within the last 10 months. Walter Walker of Sanford, N.C., and Earl Campbell of Rock Hill, S.C., were arrested in their home states, according to the Associated Press.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has made keeping guns off of the streets his key priority during his time in office. Bloomberg has also created Mayors Against Illegal Guns, an advocacy group with the goal of creating stricter gun control laws across the country. While announcing the seizure Bloomberg pointed the finger at the states the guns had been bought in, according to the BBC.
"New York is the safest big city in the nation, but year after year illegal guns flow into our city from states that don't have common sense gun laws," Bloomberg said. "Weak gun laws at the federal and state level have a direct and growing impact on the safety of people in our city."
Walker and Campbell made over $150,000 once they started selling weapons to an undercover officer of the New York Police Department. The majority of the weapons were handguns although some assault weapons and machine guns were seized as well. Campbell's girlfriend, Kendall Danielle Jones, was also arrested for smuggling a Norinco SKS assault rifle during one of the trips, according to the New York Daily News.
"Perhaps the two most disturbing aspects of the gun-trafficking operation were the simplicity of the business model, and the complete indifference of the gun suppliers to the mayhem their actions would cause here in New York City," Bridget Brennan, Special Narcotics Prosecutor, told the Associated Press. "The marketing strategy was buy low, sell high and keep a low profile."
New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly mentioned while announcing the seizure that wiretaps revealed that smugglers were afraid of being caught because of the stop-and-frisk policy that the New York Police Department had employed. Recently a New York Supreme Court judge ruled that the policy was a form of racial profiling and was unconstitutional. Originally the transactions took place in Brooklyn but as the investigation continued the smugglers wanted to stay closer and closer to the bus stops in order to avoid the possibility of an arrest, according to the BBC.
"Thank God these guns are off the streets," Bloomberg said. "There is no doubt that the seizure of these guns has saved lives."
