Gun Trafficker Who Smuggled Weapons Using Chinatown Buses Sentenced To 25 Years

CHINATOWN, NY — The leader of a gun trafficking ring that moved guns into New York City using Chinatown buses has been convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison, prosecutors announced last week.

Quincy Adams, who prosecutors say is one of the leaders of the trafficking ring, orchestrated a chain of guns that moved from Florida to New York City, usually beneath Chinatown buses. Adams was sentenced to 25 years in prison for multiple charges related to gun trafficking.

Authorities began investigating that trafficking ring in 2014, and discovering that a startling number of weapons were packaged and stored underneath commercial bus lines, most of which dropped off in Chinatown. In other cases, traffickers would pack guns into luggage and then store the luggage compartment of a Chinatown-bound bus, according to the original indictment. (Want more local news? Subscribe here for free breaking news alerts, features, neighborhood updates and more from Patch.)

In total, state investigators and the NYPD seized more than 70 illegal guns that had been purchased at Florida gun shows and then resold in New York at up to four times the original price, prosecutors said.

Schneiderman used the conviction and sentencing of Adams and his colleagues as part of his larger push to urge stricter gun laws nationwide, so that laws with more relaxed laws don't become gateways for states with tough laws, like from Florida to New York.

"Gun trafficking rings drive the gun violence epidemic that is destroying lives in New York and across the country," Schneiderman said in a statement. "Even as we work to make our own communities safer, our efforts are undermined by illegal guns that pour in from other states with weak laws."

Lead image via Shutterstock.