Task force takes down ghost gun trafficking operation in Queens

Five people were named in a whopping 625-count indictment unsealed on July 31 for their alleged roles in a gun trafficking operation that sold dozens of ghost guns, assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in Queens.

An investigation led by Attorney General Letitia James’ Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF) recovered 86 firearms – including 55 ghost guns and 25 assault weapons – along with over 90 high-capacity magazines and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. 

James said the individuals involved in the operation transported 3D-printed ghost guns assembled in Nassau County and serialized firearms purchased in Indiana into Queens, where they were stored and sold. 

“When gun traffickers flood neighborhoods with untraceable firearms, they fuel violence that tears communities apart,” she said. “This investigation successfully stopped a dangerous gun trafficking operation by removing dozens of ghost guns and assault weapons from our streets.:

AG James said the takedown was the result of a joint investigation between OCTF, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York, and the NYPD. 

She said the investigation included controlled firearms purchase operations, covert video surveillance, social media monitoring, and analysis of financial and telephone records. 

James said the investigation began in late 2023 and focused on the activities of Satveer Saini and his associates, Mateo Castro-Agudelo, Hargeny Fernandez-Gonzalez, Adam Youssef Senhaji-Rivas, and Milanjit Sidhu. 

The attorney general said Saini, Fernandez-Gonzalez, and Senhaji-Rivas paid over $27,000 to purchase firearms from Indiana, which has less restrictive gun laws than New York. 

Early in the investigation, she said Saini and Castro-Agudelo were driving from Indianapolis to Queens with weapons purchased in Indiana, when they were stopped for speeding by the Ohio State Highway Patrol in Medina County, Ohio.

James said the stop recovered nine unloaded serialized handguns from inside Saini’s rental car. From this point, she said, Fernandez-Gonzalez began paying Sidhu to drive weapons from Indianapolis to Queens. 

The attorney general said Fernandez-Gonzalez also bought 3D-printed ghost guns in Nassau County and brought them to Queens for other members of the trafficking ring to sell. 

Saini, Castro-Agudelo, and Senhaji-Rivas all sold trafficked firearms, high-capacity magazines, and ammunition during the course of the investigation, James said.  

She said Saini sold these firearms in various locations in Queens, including at the Louis C. Moser Playground in Jackson Heights on a weekday afternoon, and in the parking lot of the Queens Center Mall in Elmhurst. 

James said Castro-Agudelo and Fernandez-Gonzalez used a garage in Elmhurst to store weapons, at one point hiding twelve firearms – including seven ghost guns – and numerous high-capacity magazines inside a guitar case in the garage. 

She said Castro-Agudelo used the guitar case to transport firearms and ammunition to his customers. At least one of the firearms sales he made took place outside of a smoke shop in Jackson Heights, where he worked, James said. 

She said Castro-Agudelo posted pictures of these guns on social media accounts, including on a publicly available X (formerly Twitter) account, displaying many of the guns and significant amounts of cash. 

James identified the five indicted individuals as Hargeny Fernandez-Gonzalez, 20, of Richmond Hill; Satveer Saini, 20, of East Elmhurst; Adam Youssef Senhaji-Rivas, 20, of Astoria; Milanjit Sidhu, 20, of Greenwood, IN; and Mateo Castro-Agudelo, 21, of Long Island City. They were variously charged with fourth-degree conspiracy, first-degree criminal sale of a firearm, and first-degree criminal possession of a firearm.

The attorney general said each of the five individuals has been charged with Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the First Degree and/or Criminal Possession of a Firearm in the First Degree, which are both class B violent felonies. 

If convicted of one count of either of these crimes, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, James said. 

“The defendants are accused of amassing a cache of illegal high-powered rifles, handguns, and semiautomatic weapons that could have undoubtedly been used to promote violence and further cause irreparable devastation,” said HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Ivan J. Arvelo. “They allegedly displayed sheer disregard for the public’s safety, and placed their own selfish gain above all else. =”

“These charges highlight law enforcement’s relentless efforts to rid our streets of untraceable ghost guns and other illegal firearms, leading to New York City’s ongoing reductions in shootings and homicides this year,” said NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban.