Prosecutor: Ring brought guns from Ohio to New Jersey
CAMDEN, N.J. (WPVI) -- Authorities say seven members of a gun trafficking ring that transported illegal firearms from Ohio to New Jersey have been indicted on numerous charges, including racketeering and conspiracy.
New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced the indictment Wednesday. He says at least 30 guns made their way between the two states from April 2016 through July 2017.
Authorities say 25-year-old Chucky Scott, of Columbus, Ohio, was the ringleader. They say another Columbus resident, 26-year-old Anthony Hammond, bought guns for Scott in Ohio and helped him deliver some of the weapons to Camden, New Jersey.
The other five defendants are New Jersey men who allegedly served as middlemen to help arrange gun sales in Camden.
The investigation started when state investigators focused on Eduardo Caba, an alleged heroin kingpin.
"When the investigation learned Caban was not only selling heroin but illegal firearms as well, we expanded the investigation," said Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice.
The murder rate in Camden, not long ago considered the most dangerous town in the nation per capita, is down by 34%, but there are still challenges.
"In a city where drug dealers will spray 14 round across a park and hit a bus packed with preschoolers, the fear of violence never goes away," said Grewal.
The attorney general says states like Ohio, with lenient gun laws, are where criminals can get guns like AK-47s and AR-15s and smuggle them into New Jersey, where gun laws are some of the toughest in the nation.
"There it's easy to buy guns and, through the kind of gun trafficking alleged in our indictments, those guns end up in New Jersey," said Grewal.
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