Latest news with #guntrafficking
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Yahoo
Gun dealer to judge: Don't punish me for keeping shank in violent MDC Brooklyn jail
A gun trafficker says he shouldn't get a longer sentence after being caught with a makeshift weapon in his cell at MDC Brooklyn – because the federal lockup is so violent he needs it for protection. Federal prosecutors want Raymond Minaya, 29, to spend more than 15 years behind bars for his role in a gun-dealing ring — six years more than the ring's leader received — in part because of the sharpened metal rod and cell phones found stashed in his jail cell last year. Minaya's lawyers essentially called the contraband a necessary reality in MDC Brooklyn, pointing out that guards found the weapon last November, just a few months after a string of violent attacks and two murders at the troubled Sunset Park lockup. 'Possessing an object to protect himself against the well-documented dangers of the MDC cannot fairly be said to be evidence that Mr. Minaya has not accepted responsibility for his conduct or withdrawn from criminal activity,' wrote Jeffrey Dahlberg and Mia Eisner-Grynberg of the Federal Defenders on Wednesday. 'Mr. Minaya did not use or threaten to use the object, nor was he ever seen brandishing it; it was merely inside his cell, arguably as a deterrent to others or as emergency protection given the recent violent incidents there.' And the cell phones, they argue, can be the only way to reach family members due to the frequent lockdowns at the jail. Several federal judges — including Brooklyn Federal Court Judge William Kuntz, who's scheduled to sentence Minaya on Tuesday — have railed against the notorious conditions at MDC Brooklyn and have shaved months or years off some defendants' sentences to account for the conditions inside. The jail currently houses Sean 'Diddy' Combs and alleged CEO-killer Luigi Mangione. Prosecutors have a different perspective on Minaya's motives: the Gorilla Stone Bloods member has a long history of violence and rule-breaking behind bars when he served time in state prison, including three separate assaults on inmates, they argue. 'The government expects that the defendant, like many other MDC inmates, will use those conditions as a reason for this court to impose a lesser sentence,' prosecutors wrote in a letter to Brooklyn Federal Court William Kuntz. 'But he cannot simultaneously contribute to the dangerous conditions at the MDC and then claim them as a reason he should be granted leniency.' Photos on his contraband phone show bags of pot and him smoking on a video call with other inmates, prosecutors note. 'Additional images appear possibly related to a contraband smuggling scheme, including images of pellets, money transfers, and dried leafy substances,' federal prosecutors wrote in a Tuesday filing. Minaya and three other men were busted in 2023 on charges they sold more than 50 firearms to an undercover cop in Brooklyn, making the sales in a crowded waterfront park and on a playground. Minaya sold 12 of those guns personally, including one weapon used in a 2021 shooting at a Bedford-Stuyvesant family day celebration that left eight people wounded. All four suspects took plea deals last year. The ringleader, David McCann, was sentenced to nine years, while accomplice Tajhai Jones got just over eight years. The remaining defendant, Calvin Tabron, awaits sentencing.
Irish Times
11-06-2025
- Irish Times
Garda inquiry into Evan Fitzgerald followed tip-off Irish person trying to buy guns on darknet
The Garda investigation into 22-year-old Evan Fitzgerald over his alleged efforts to buy guns on the darknet started after an international law enforcement agency provided information to the force , it is understood. That intelligence, which appears to have come through Interpol , suggested an unknown person in the Republic was on the darknet trying to buy guns. Acting on the information, the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau established contact with the Irish suspect. It is understood that undercover gardaí made contact with the person, on the darknet, while posing as a criminal with guns for sale. The Irish Times understands agreement was reached that weapons would be sold, with cash paid and the guns delivered by undercover officers in an investigative process known as 'controlled delivery'. READ MORE However, after delivery of the firearms – a machine gun and pistol, with ammunition – a Garda interception was made. The guns and bullets were seized and Fitzgerald was charged with four offences following the sting operation early last year. A search of a property linked to him yielded an assortment of ammunition, as well as powders that can be used to make explosive devices. That discovery resulted in Fitzgerald being charged with nine further offences. Fitzgerald, of Portrushen, Kiltegan, Co Wicklow, was facing 13 charges and was at liberty on bail when he went to the Fairgreen Shopping Centre in Carlow town last Sunday week, firing several shots and taking his own life. The gun he used, a stolen shotgun legally held by another person, was unrelated to the undercover operation that resulted in his arrest early last year. The guns used by the undercover gardaí in the 2024 sting operation were taken from Garda stores. They had been decommissioned and the ammunition was non-functioning. When arrested in early 2024, Mr Fitzgerald made admissions. His first court appearance was told that there was no suspicion he wanted the guns to further any involvement in organised crime. Instead, he had acted in a 'naive' way in trying to buy guns for recreational shooting. Concerns have been raised by Labour TD Alan Kelly and Senator Michael McDowell, the former minister for justice, about the manner of Fitzgerald's arrest and the charges against him. Both have questioned why an alternative, unspecified, legal option was not used to deal with him, rather than his being charged with possession of the guns and ammunition. In reply to queries, Garda headquarters said it could not comment on a specific case. However, commenting in general terms, it said gardaí use 'a range of internationally recognised investigative techniques when tackling serious crimes such as drug dealing and procuring of firearms, either of which could then be used to cause significant harm to the public. 'One of these is controlled deliveries. In controlled deliveries any material used is made safe by the law enforcement agency before being used, [for example], firearms are deactivated.' On Wednesday, Mr Kelly and Mr McDowell raised the case in the Dáil and Seanad, asking about court reports that suggested gardaí had told the judge in the case that they were 'investigating' how Fitzgerald and others acquired the guns. 'The guns were actually given to him by An Garda Síochána ... how could they say in court that they didn't know where the guns came from?' asked Mr Kelly. In the Seanad, Mr McDowell said: 'I am also very deeply concerned that by informing the court that the gardaí were still investigating by whom the weapons in question were sold; the court was actively misled.'
Telegraph
10-06-2025
- Telegraph
Chinese man admits smuggling weapons from US to North Korea
A Chinese man living illegally in the United States has pleaded guilty to exporting guns, ammunition and sensitive military equipment to North Korea. Shenghua Wen was reportedly operating at the direction of the North Korean regime and was paid about $2 million (£1.5 million) for his work over a two-year period. Pictures released by the FBI showed briefcases containing sophisticated electronic equipment, as well as what appeared to be a semi-automatic rifle. Wen arrived in the US on a student visa in 2012, but remained in the country illegally after the visa expired in 2013. He first established contact with North Korean officials at their embassy in China before he moved to the US. These officials 'directed Wen to procure goods on behalf of North Korea', according to the US Department of Justice. In 2022, Wen was approached by two North Korean officials, known as Jin Yong Nan and Cui, over the encrypted messaging platform Wickr and was tasked with acquiring guns and 'sensitive technology' to send from the US to North Korea. The following year, Wen purchased an unspecified number of firearms in Texas, using money provided to him by one of his North Korean contacts, and then carried the guns across state lines to a port in California. The guns were then shipped in three containers from the US to North Korea via Hong Kong, with Wen 'filing false export information regarding the contents of the container', according to prosecutors. One container, which was falsely reported to be carrying refrigerators, successfully arrived in Hong Kong and was later transported 30 miles south-west of Pyongyang to Nampo, the country's largest port. Last year, Wen was again asked by his North Korean contacts to purchase approximately 60,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition, prosecutors said. He also obtained sensitive technology, including a device that can identify chemical threats and a handheld receiver that detects different types of transmissions. These items, stored in two secure cases, were seized from his home during a raid last August. Finally, Wen acquired or offered to acquire a civilian aeroplane engine and a thermal imaging system that can be mounted on a drone or other aircraft, though it's unclear whether these were ever successfully shipped. Prosecutors allege that Wen was helping North Korea obtain materials for a potential attack on South Korea when he was arrested at his home in Ontario, California, in December last year. North Korea has been boosting its defence capabilities in recent years as it seeks to expand and update its conventional weapons. Wen admitted to one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which authorises the US president to regulate commerce with countries if there is a threat to national security, and one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the IEEPA violation and a maximum penalty of 10 years for acting as a foreign agent. His sentencing is scheduled for Aug 18.
Al Jazeera
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Chinese man in US pleads guilty to exporting guns, ammo to North Korea
A Chinese man living illegally in the United States has pleaded guilty to exporting guns, ammunition and other military items to North Korea at the direction of Pyongyang, the US Department of Justice has said. Shenghua Wen, of Ontario, California, admitted to one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act – a 1977 law that empowers the president to restrict commerce with countries on national security grounds – and one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government, the Justice Department said on Monday. Wen, 42, shipped at least three containers of guns bound for North Korea in 2023, one of which arrived in Nampo, North Korea, via Hong Kong, according to prosecutors. To facilitate the scheme, Wen bought a firearms business in Houston, Texas, and used false paperwork to conceal the contents of his shipping containers, according to prosecutors. Wen, who was arrested in December, also allegedly bought approximately 60,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition and obtained 'sensitive technology', including a chemical threat identification device, for shipment to North Korea. Wen was allegedly directed to procure the weapons and sensitive goods by North Korean officials he met at the North Korean Embassy in China before entering the US on a student visa in 2012. Wen was allegedly transferred about $2m to carry out the scheme. 'Wen admitted that at all relevant times he knew that it was illegal to ship firearms, ammunition, and sensitive technology to North Korea. He also admitted to never having the required licenses to export ammunition, firearms, and the above-described devices to North Korea,' the US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California said in a press release. 'He further admitted to acting at the direction of North Korean government officials and that he had not provided notification to the Attorney General of the United States that he was acting in the United States at the direction and control of North Korea as required by law.' During questioning by the FBI, Wen said he believed the North Korean government wanted the weapons and ammunition to prepare for an attack against South Korea, according to a criminal complaint filed in September. Wen is due to face court for sentencing in August. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and up to 10 years for acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.
The Guardian
09-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Questions grow over unprecedented illegal firearms seizure in Jamaica
Jamaicans are seeking answers after officials revealed a massive illegal firearms seizure described by experts as the largest in the country's history, with enough guns and ammunition to 'arm a small army'. More than a week after the police and customs said they had intercepted 233 illegal rifles and handguns and more than 40,000 rounds of ammunition, the government has remained tight-lipped about the details of the find, arguing that revealing more information would hamper a sensitive cross-border investigation into their origin and the identity of those involved. According to unconfirmed local reports, the guns and ammunition were discovered inside an industrial-sized water heater at a warehouse in the country's capital, Kingston. Announcing the seizure in a hastily organised press conference, the deputy prime minister and minister of security, Horace Chang, told journalists that the operation was 'reported a bit early'. Chang refused to give details of the operation, telling reporters that 'the more we talk about it, the less likely we are to find' those responsible, adding: 'In fact, too much information [has] already gone out.' Jason McKay, a criminologist, said that Jamaica – which is already battling high homicide rates linked to gun trafficking from the US – should be treating the discovery of 'enough guns to fight a government' as a crisis. 'You could literally arm a small army with that. At this point in time, our sovereignty is in question,' he said. 'That much guns and ammunition falling into any environment could cause mayhem. If you were to drop that much guns and ammunition into London, you could change the culture of London crime. So it has to be looked at as a crisis.' The government has hailed the gun find as a product of a $50bn (£37bn) investment in security and efforts to tackle organised crime. Andrew Holness, Jamaica's prime minister, told reporters it was the result of improvements in resources for the Jamaica Customs Agency, improved partnerships with international partners and 'significant investment' in scanning technology. Holness also avoided details, saying the weapons had been discovered with scanning technology and predicting that increased interdiction would reduce the supply of guns in Jamaica. 'The investigations are ongoing, and I am certain that our security forces will track down, along with our international partners, those who were responsible for this,' he said. Last year the New York attorney general, Letitia James, announced new measures and legislation to tackle gun trafficking from the US to the Caribbean. James quoted Jamaican government estimates that at least 200 guns are trafficked into the country from the US every month, and said that the weapons are fuelling violent crime and enabling networks that traffic drugs to the US. The Jamaican government also pointed to a historic 43% drop in murders since last year. 'That means we have a reduction of … [about] 210 murders compared to the period last year, that is, January to May. This is the lowest rate of homicide in the island since 1991,' Chang told reporters. Kamina Johnson Smith, the foreign minister, said the strong crime reduction trend has resulted in the US upgrading Jamaica's travel advisory from level three, which urges travellers to 'reconsider your travel to the destination due to serious risks to safety and security'. Jamaica's advisory, she said, is now at level two – the same as 'much larger and more developed countries' such as Spain and the UK. 'This improvement is a timely acknowledgment of Jamaica's continued progress in enhancing public safety, as well as the travel experience for visitors,' she added. However, while McKay has lauded the 'amazing' reduction in crime, he has called for 'extreme measures' to deal with the rising number of guns being trafficked. He said: 'Of course, the police are doing their best to recover them, but if they're going to come in at this rate, then it's not going to be quantifiable. You have to do something drastic at this point.' The criminologist said that capital punishment should be considered. 'Jail time isn't enough for somebody who's importing 220 guns. It's more than them just endangering one person's life or two [people's lives]; they're endangering the entire society's life in Jamaica,' he said.
