Mass. man pleads guilty to gun, drug, and machinegun conversion device trafficking
BOSTON (WWLP) – A Lowell man has pleaded guilty in federal court to trafficking firearms, distributing thousands of methamphetamine pills disguised as Adderall, and selling illegal machinegun conversion devices known as 'switches.'
Springfield man charged with DUI, wrong-way driving in Enfield
Billy Chan, 20, pleaded guilty last Friday to four federal charges:
Engaging in the business of dealing in firearms without a license
Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine
Distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
Transfer and possession of a machinegun.
Federal prosecutors said that between March and June 2023, Chan conducted five illegal sales to undercover law enforcement officers in Lowell. The transactions included three handguns, four machinegun conversion devices, and about 2,000 counterfeit pills made to resemble Adderall. Laboratory analysis confirmed the pills were homemade methamphetamine laced with caffeine.
Chan allegedly worked with a co-conspirator affiliated with the Asian Boyz gang, a group that investigators say had a significant role in distributing methamphetamine pills throughout the Merrimack Valley region during 2023. The pills were widely marketed as Adderall, a prescription stimulant, but were illicitly manufactured and contained no pharmaceutical-grade ingredients.
Authorities also documented a meeting in which Chan described manufacturing the machinegun conversion devices himself while working at a machine shop. He reportedly gave a cooperating source a demonstration on how to install the 'switches' and later sent a video showing a fully automatic pistol being fired into the air, writing in a message, 'I let my boys test the switch.'
The case is being prosecuted as part of , a nationwide initiative by the U.S. Department of Justice aimed at reducing gun violence and violent crime by enhancing coordination among federal, state, and local law enforcement and community organizations.
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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