Illegal-gun operation had drive-up service

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

Seventy-two guns have been seized and 22 people arrested in one of the largest federally led investigations into illegal gun-trafficking in this area, law-enforcement officials announced Thursday.

"As a result of this investigation, over 70 firearms that were destined for the streets of Philadelphia will not be used by violent criminals, who all too often strike innocent citizens and children and shatter the lives of countless families," said Sheree Mixell, special agent in charge of the Philadelphia field division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

At a news conference in his building, U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger said ATF agents had "purchased" the guns from the defendants in several undercover operations.

Those firearms include revolvers, semiautomatic handguns, sawed-off shotguns and rifles, and military-style semiautomatic rifles, he said, adding that some of the guns were sold with obliterated serial numbers, making them difficult to trace by law-enforcement.


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