Ghost Gun Takedown In Bayside Results In Four Arrests, DA Says

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — Police busted into four northeast Queens homes Tuesday morning and found stockpiles of illegal weapons, including thousands of rounds of ammunition and 33 firearms, most of which were untraceable "ghost guns," prosecutors announced Thursday.

Now four men — Andrew Chang, 34, Kai Zhao, 45, Michael Frankenfeld, 55, and Seongwoo Chung, 35 — are facing criminal weapons charges connected to the gun takedown, the Queens District Attorney said.

Police had already been surveilling the men in an investigation led by the DA's office, which has been keeping an eye on people buying polymer-based firearm components — gun parts that don't include any serial numbers and can be easily assembled into operable weapons and sold on the black market, circumventing background check requirements.

In Tuesday's takedown, police found 33 firearms (27 of which were ghost guns), about 10,000 rounds of ammunition, equipment for assembling ghost guns, and $50,000 cash stashed in all four homes — including Chang's Bayside residences.

"We must get the guns off our streets," said District Attorney Katz in a news release. "We must stop the illegal production of dangerous firearms that is happening in homes throughout our neighborhoods."

Since August, authorities have seized a total of 107 guns, including 78 ghost guns, in Queens, as part of an ongoing ghost gun takedown effort, prosecutors said.

"These guns, often ordered online and shipped to New York City, shoot real bullets that victimize New Yorkers," said Police Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell. "Our joint, intelligence-driven focus on interrupting the supply chain for these weapons, and keeping them from hitting the streets, is intensifying."

Chang and Chung were each arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on Wednesday, and face up to 15 years in prison if convicted, prosecutors said.

Frankenfeld and Zhao were arraigned the same time and place on slightly more charges, meaning both men face up to 25 years in prison if convicted, according to the DA.

Prosecutors said that all four men are expected to return to court on Friday.