By Forum Staff
State Attorney General Tish James on Friday announced the indictments of three men for their roles in a gun-trafficking operation that smuggled 184 firearms into Queens via the infamous Iron Pipeline.
The 579-count indictment charges Deundre Wright, 22, Abner Sparkes, 31, and Ethan Charles, 22, all borough residents, with trafficking and selling numerous assault weapons, semiautomatic pistols, revolvers, high-capacity magazines, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. An investigation led by the Attorney General’s Office recovered 184 firearms from the operation, which transported weapons from Goldsboro, N.C. to New York City where they were sold.
The investigation revealed that from March to July 2024, Deundre Wright was responsible for sourcing firearms in North Carolina and trafficking them to Queens where they were sold. Wright would travel by bus from Chinatown in Manhattan to North Carolina and back, storing the firearms in luggage during the trips. After transporting the guns to New York, Wright stored them at friends’ homes in Jamaica, including in cars parked at the homes. Wright would set the prices for the firearms ranging from $1,000 to $2,500 per gun, and provide them to Abner Sparkes, who would meet a customer for sales at 115th Road and 222nd Street in Cambria Heights. Sparkes would meet the customer in a car, conduct the sale, and then bring the cash back to Wright who was parked nearby monitoring the transactions.
On Aug. 8, 2024, investigators detained Deundre Wright and Ethan Charles in Manhattan while they were exiting a bus carrying suitcases and other luggage. Investigators seized 41 firearms, including four shotguns and an inoperable rocket-propelled grenade launcher in their luggage.
The indictment charges the three men with multiple crimes, including criminal sale of a firearm in the first degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the first degree, and conspiracy in the fourth degree, among other charges, for their participation in the illegal gun trafficking operation.
“The majority of guns used in crimes in New York City are illegally trafficked from other states with lax gun laws along the Iron Pipeline and are fueling deadly gun violence in our communities,” James said. “This investigation shut down a major gun trafficking operation that brought a flood of dangerous weapons, including assault weapons, from North Carolina into New York City in the span of just a few months. I will continue to use every tool at my disposal to keep New Yorkers safe and get illegal guns off our streets. I thank our partners in this investigation for their work to stop gun violence.”
City Interim Police Commissioner Tom Donlon added, “Today’s charges are a stark reminder that high-powered, illegal firearms continue to proliferate and circulate in our communities, and that NYPD investigators and our law enforcement partners are doing the dangerous work of preventing them from getting into criminals’ hands on the streets. Disrupting and dismantling gun trafficking networks is a top priority for our city.”
If convicted, Wright, Sparkes and Charles face a maximum of 25 years in prison.
