Attorney General James Announces Takedown of Ghost Gun Trafficking Operation in Queens

July 17, 2024

NEW YORK - New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced a 625-count indictment charging five individuals for their involvement in a gun trafficking operation that sold dozens of ghost guns, assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in Queens, New York. An investigation led by the Office of the Attorney General's (OAG) 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. 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," said Attorney General James. "This investigation successfully stopped a dangerous gun trafficking operation by removing dozens of ghost guns and assault weapons from our streets. I will continue to use every available resource to stop illegal gun trafficking and protect our communities from the dangers of gun violence. I thank our partners in this investigation for their diligent work to keep New Yorkers safe."

The takedown was the result of a joint investigation between OCTF, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York, and the New York City Police Department (NYPD). The investigation included controlled firearms purchase operations, covert video surveillance, social media monitoring, and analysis of financial and telephone records.

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.

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, 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. The stop recovered nine unloaded serialized handguns from inside Saini's rental car. From this point on, Fernandez-Gonzalez began paying Sidhu to drive weapons from Indianapolis to Queens.

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.

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.

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. 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.

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.

Images from Castro-Agudelo's X account

The investigation recovered 86 firearms, including 55 ghost guns and 25 assault weapons, in addition to over 90 high-capacity magazines and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

Assault rifles, ghost guns, high-capacity magazines, and ammunition recovered by the investigation

Ghost guns, assault rifles, high-capacity magazines, ammunition, and a guitar case where guns were hidden recovered from an Elmhurst garage defendants used to store weapons

The five individuals who were charged with Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the First Degree, and/or Criminal Possession of a Firearm in the First Degree, and other related charges are:

• Hargeny Fernandez-Gonzalez (20, of Richmond Hill, NY)
• Satveer Saini (20, of East Elmhurst, NY)
• Adam Youssef Senhaji-Rivas (20, of Astoria, NY)
• Milanjit Sidhu (20, of Greenwood, IN)
• Mateo Castro-Agudelo (21, of Long Island City, NY)

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.

"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. HSI New York's LaGuardia Airport Border Enforcement Security Task Force has stood at the front lines of combatting the gun violence epidemic, and utilizes every tool and resource in its arsenal to do so. I commend the New York Attorney General's Office, the NYPD, and our law enforcement partners for ensuring the safety of New Yorkers every day."

"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. "Simply put, our investigators save lives when they disrupt and dismantle the dangerous networks behind the manufacture, transport, and sale of these illicit weapons. I commend and thank the New York Attorney General's Office and all of the NYPD's local, state, and federal partners for their hard work on this important case and their continued dedication to our shared public safety mission."

This is the latest example of Attorney General James' ongoing efforts to stop illegal gun trafficking. In April 2024, Attorney General James announced the indictment of four individuals for selling ghost guns and other firearms in Central New York. In March 2024, Attorney General James secured a $7.8 million judgment against gun retailer Indie Guns for illegally selling ghost gun components in New York. In February 2024, Attorney General James announced the takedowns of a gun trafficking network that sold ghost guns and assault-style rifles and a narcotics trafficking network in Dutchess County. In December 2023, Attorney General James and the New York State Police indicted a Manhattan man for trafficking guns and narcotics. In March 2023, Attorney General James announced the takedown of a ghost gun and narcotics trafficking operation in New York City.

The Attorney General would also like to thank the Indianapolis III Field Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), HSI Indiana, the Queens District Attorney's Office, the Ghost Gun Initiative of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, NYPD's Major Case Field Intelligence Team, NYPD's 115^th Precinct Field Intelligence Team, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Garden City Police Department, the Nassau County District Attorney's Office, the U.S. Attorney's Offices from the Southern District of Indiana and the Eastern District of New York, and the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol for their valuable assistance and participation in this investigation.

For HSI, this investigation was led by HSI New York's LaGuardia Airport Border Enforcement Security Task Force, which is housed within HSI New York and consists of HSI special agents and task force officers from the NYPD, Federal Air Marshal Service, Queens District Attorney's Office, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). HSI Task Force Officer/NYPD Detective Ronald Cruz served as the lead investigator, who is supervised by NYPD Sergeant Dominick Desiervi, Lieutenant John Tancredi, and Assistant Chief Jerry O'Sullivan, under the overall supervision of Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.

For OAG, this investigation was led by OCTF Detective Michael Dealmeida, under the supervision of OCTF Supervising Detective Bradford Miller, Assistant Chief Ismael Hernandez, and Deputy Chief Andrew Boss, with special assistance from detective specialists from the OAG Special Operations Unit, led by Deputy Chief Sean Donovan. The Attorney General's Investigations Division is led by Chief Oliver Pu-Folkes.

The case is being prosecuted by OCTF Assistant Deputy Attorney General Ann Lee, under the supervision of Downstate OCTF Deputy Chief Lauren Abinanti with the assistance of OCTF Legal Support Analyst Alex DiGiacomo. Nicole Keary is the Deputy Attorney General in Charge of OCTF. The Criminal Justice Division is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General José Maldonado. Both the Investigations Division and the Division for Criminal Justice are overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.