Photo Courtesy of AG James
Two of the 12 ghost guns recovered in last week’s bust.
By Forum Staff
State Attorney General Tish James, Mayor Eric Adams, and the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force last week announced the take down of a firearm and drug trafficking operation that illegally sold guns, including ghost guns and assault weapons, in New York City and Westchester County. The 123-count indictment charges Jamaica resident Eduardo Hernandez, 29; Jose Garcia, 46; and Euclides Castillo, 30, with trafficking 19 firearms, including 12 ghost guns, six high-capacity magazines, and more than 560 grams of cocaine, with a street value of approximately $25,000.
The investigation revealed that Hernandez, Castillo, and Garcia worked together to traffic firearms from Massachusetts to New York where they were illegally sold. Both Hernandez and Garcia sourced the majority of these guns from an undisclosed location in Massachusetts and brought them to New York. Between March 2021 and July 2022, both Hernandez and Garcia sold illegal firearms, including loaded assault-style ghost guns, at Hernandez’s residence in Queens, and Garcia also made sales from a location in Port Chester. Castillo was present and participated in the illegal sale of firearms. Castillo, who previously worked in the assembly division for the gun maker Smith & Wesson, also provided buyers with instructions on how to operate the purchased firearms while inside Hernandez’s Queens residence.
Hernandez also sold more than 560 grams of cocaine. In total, the investigation resulted in the recovery of:
- 19 firearms, 12 of which were ghost guns
- Nine 9-millimeter semi-automatic pistols, eight of which were ghost guns
- Seven AR-15 style assault weapons, four of which were ghost guns, two that were loaded
- Two .45-caliber pistols, one of which was loaded
- One cutdown, defaced, and loaded 12-gauge shotgun
- Six high-capacity magazines
- Approximately 560 grams of cocaine and 0.4 grams of heroin
The investigation included hundreds of hours of physical and covert surveillance, analysis of voluminous electronic evidence, including cellular telephonic communications, and other traditional investigative operations.
“Ghost guns endanger New Yorkers and carve highways of death in our communities, but thanks to the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, 19 illegal guns, including a dozen ghost guns and AR-15 assault weapons, are off our streets today,” Adams said. “A number of the ghost guns recovered in this bust contained components from Polymer80 — the largest source of ghost guns used in crimes across the nation — which is why, today, I am repeating my call for the ATF to revoke the federal firearms license of Polymer80. Despite this unlawful conduct, our law enforcement efforts are helping New York City turn a corner. The NYPD seized 8,500 illegal guns from the streets, including more than 540 ghost guns, since we came into office. Every New Yorker should be able to send their kids to school, shop in their local store, and come home safely to their family. It is going to take all of us working together to dam the rivers of gun violence, so I want to thank Attorney General James, the NYPD, the NYSP, and the DEA for all their work in making our streets and city safer.”
