Nine Convicted In Large-Scale Gun, Drug Trafficking Rings: NY AG

NEW YORK – Nine members of gun and drug trafficking rings, which sold ghost guns, assault-style rifles and counterfeit oxycodone pills with deadly amounts of fentanyl, have been convicted, the state announced Wednesday.

New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James said a “major drug trafficking and weapons operation” has been shut down.

New York Attorney General Letitia James said the rings had been operating in Dutchess County.

“These dangerous criminals flooded New York communities with untraceable ghost guns and counterfeit opioids containing deadly amounts of fentanyl,” Letitia James said.

The convictions are the result of an 18-month multi-agency investigation, officials said.

Law enforcement recovered 31 firearms including 14 unserialized AR-style ghost gun rifles, two serialized non-compliant AR-style rifles, a defaced AR-style rifle, a defaced magazine-fed shotgun, a Polymer-80 ghost gun pistol, and a defaced Glock-21 pistol, as well as high-capacity magazines and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, according to the Attorney General’s office.

Muayad Qader, 35, of Poughkeepsie, who prosecutors described as a ringleader in the firearms trafficking network, was sentenced Jan. 24 to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to firearm sale and conspiracy counts.

Jason Knapp, described as the primary supplier of firearms to the gun trafficking operation, was sentenced to 40 years in prison Jan. 17 after being convicted at trial of gun sale, possession and conspiracy counts. Prosecutors said Knapp built ghost assault-style weapons in his Dutchess County home.

According to the state, Qader obtained firearms from Knapp and two other men, Joseph Silverman and Louis Gonzalez, for later resale.

Silverman, 30, of Port St. Lucie, Florida, and Gonzalez, 53, of LaGrangeville, New York, have entered guilty pleas to weapon and conspiracy charges and await sentencing.

Prosecutors said five defendants have been convicted for their roles in the narcotics trafficking operation. Law enforcement recovered approximately 5,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl with a street value of about $150,000 and approximately $55,000 cash.

According to the state, Qader was part of the narcotics trafficking operation and he bought and sold counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl. Qader pleaded guilty to narcotics and conspiracy-related charges and his sentence is to run concurrently with his sentence for the firearm counts.

Five Poughkeepsie residents pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the narcotics investigation. Four have been sentenced, including Isaiah Atkins, 27, Christopher Evans, 34, Aaron Steppe, 29, and Angel Williams, 24. Curtis Holland, 32, awaits sentencing.

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