Social media, gun runners and a foolhardy rapper led to the biggest bust ever of illegal firearms by the NYPD. Mayor Michael Bloomberg revealed today that undercover cops seized what amounted to a huge arsenal of automatic assault weapons including machine guns, high-capacity assault rifles and handguns.
DNA Info New York reports:
A joint sting between the NYPD, Manhattan Disrict Attorney’s Office and office of Special Narcotics Prosecutor netted 19 members of a gun-trafficking ring that stretched all the way down to the Carolinas, according to the mayor. Half of the weapons came from those Southern states, he said.
“There is no doubt that the seizure of these guns — the largest bust in the city’s history — has saved lives,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a press conference at NYPD headquarters Monday morning. “For that reason, every New Yorker in every part of our city, owes a debt of thanks to all those involved in this investigation.”
Of course, Bloomberg used his time at the podium to say the bust is evidence that his stop-and-frisk policy, which was recently deemed unconstitutional by a federal judge, is still necessary.
Never mind the fact that the guns in the bust came mostly from North Carolina and South Carolina. Also, that police officer must be blind if he needs to frisk someone to find a rifle, just saying. Some of the 19 men that were arrested said stop-and-frisk did make bringing the guns into the city difficult. However, as seen by all the arm an undercover cop was able to buy, the gun runners found a way to make it happen.
Buzzfeed reports that investigators were tipped off to the ring, which sent the firearms to Brooklyn, when a rapper posted photos of guns and cash to Instagram and YouTube. The rapper was in a recording studio that was above a Bed-Stuy restaurant when he posted the images.
The struggle rapper jokes really do write themselves.
Check out photos of the NYPD’s haul of weapons–254 in total were seized–in the gallery.
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Photos: Twitter, NYPD
