This week, I was joined by the NYPD in announcing the takedown of an arsenal of ghost guns in Fresh Meadows, the fifth such seizure in Queens since August.
As I've noted in the past, ghost guns have become an emerging threat to our efforts to keep our streets safe from gun violence. These virtually untraceable firearms have been on the radar for the past few years but are now increasingly used by drivers of violent crime on the streets of Queens, with our office and the NYPD consistently seeing recoveries of ghost guns in street crimes.
That is why we are using traditional investigative techniques, accurate intelligence gathering and analysis to continue a relentless pursuit of those who think they can get away with bringing these gun parts into our borough to assemble them into fully functioning firearms.
From August 2021 to today, we have conducted a total of five takedowns that resulted in the seizure of 74 total firearms, including both ghost guns and commercially manufactured firearms, 222 high-capacity magazines, and 91 firearm lower receivers - which represent dozens of additional ghost guns that had not yet been completed.
Working in partnership with our law enforcement partners, we are going to dismantle this pipeline and rid our neighborhoods of these dangerous weapons.
