Attorney General James and NY Drug Enforcement Task Force Take Down Ghost Gun Trafficking Ring

December 1, 2022

Joint Investigation by AG’s Organized Crime Task Force, NYPD,
NYSP, and DEA Charges Three Individuals with Selling 47 Firearms,
Firearm Components, Ammunition, and Accessories

Bust is the Latest in AG’s Efforts to Crack Down on
Gun Traffickers and Get Guns off of New York’s Streets

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James and the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force today announced a 438-count indictment, charging three individuals from a gun trafficking operation that illegally sold 47 firearms, including ghost guns which were shipped to New York and Pennsylvania from various online retailers before being assembled. The indictment, unsealed in Queens County Supreme Court today, charges Devon Smith-Martin, Fritz Pierre-Louis, and Hakeem Solomon with trafficking numerous ghost guns — weapons without serial numbers or other identifying markers — including assault weapons, machine guns, and semiautomatic pistols. The gun trafficking operation also sold rapid-fire modification devices, silencers, high-capacity magazines, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. In total, the investigation led to the recovery of 57 firearms, 51 of which were ghost guns.

“I will not allow our streets to be flooded with ghost guns, assault rifles, or other weapons of war,” said Attorney General James. “Giving criminals easy access to illegal and untraceable guns is a threat to all New Yorkers and a danger that my office will not tolerate. High-capacity ammunition magazines and rapid-fire modification devices can easily turn firearms into mass-murder machines. I thank our partners in law enforcement for their support and coordination as we work to protect the safety and well-being of all New Yorkers.”

Some of the ghost guns, firearms, and accessories, including high-capacity
magazine and silencers, recovered through this gun trafficking operation.

Today’s takedown was the result of a six-month joint investigation between the Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF) and the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, which is comprised of agents and officers of the New York City Police Department (NYPD), New York State Police (NYSP), and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

The investigation revealed that Devon Smith-Martin and Fritz Pierre-Louis ordered ghost gun components and accessories from out-of-state online firearm retailers and often had them shipped to an address in Pennsylvania. Devon Smith-Martin then trafficked the firearm components and accessories to New York for assembly and sale. As a result of the interstate “Polymer” pipeline trafficking, the investigation was named “Operation Ghost Runner.” The investigation, which led to the recovery of 57 illegal firearms, included hundreds of hours of physical and covert surveillance, court-authorized wiretapping of numerous target phones, and undercover operations.

OCTF and its partners executed search warrants today at Smith-Martin’s residence and Pierre-Louis’s residence, both in Suffolk County as well as Pierre-Louis’ job site in Queens County. Recovered during today’s search warrants were 3 Polymer 80 9mm ghost guns, including 1 equipped with a rapid fire modification device, numerous high-capacity magazines, including ones designed for AR-15 assault rifles, silencers, firearm component parts, including AR-15 and 9mm “lower receivers” and “upper receivers,” threaded barrels, drill kits, Polymer 80 and AR-15 “molds”, assembly tools, pistol jigs, and additional ammunition.

The three defendants were charged with various counts of Criminal Sale of a Firearm, Criminal Sale of a Ghost Gun, Criminal Possession of a Weapon, and Conspiracy for their participation in the illegal gun trafficking operation.

According to the indictment, Devon Smith-Martin acted as the main point of contact for the sale of firearms to an undercover officer. Devon Smith-Martin would communicate with Fritz Pierre-Louis, who ordered ghost gun components and kits from various online firearm retailers and had the packages shipped to his Suffolk County residence, as well as a residence in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Working together with Fritz Pierre-Louis, Devon Smith-Martin traveled to the Allentown residence to retrieve the packages containing the firearm components and related accessories. Fritz Pierre-Louis would then assemble the ghost guns at both his Suffolk County residence and his place of employment in Queens County. Devon Smith-Martin would outfit several of the firearms with rapid-fire modification devices which turned the firearms into fully-automatic machine guns. Devon Smith-Martin also purchased a few illegal, but serialized, firearms from other individuals for resale. Devon Smith-Martin and Hakeem Solomon also worked together to sell firearms.

Intercepted communications revealed that Devon Smith-Martin and Fritz Pierre-Louis often discussed how many completed firearms they had available to sell, counting the “tops” and “bottoms” they had on hand. “Tops” were a reference to upper receivers, comprised of the slide and barrel, and “bottoms” were a reference to lower receivers, the frame comprised of the trigger and firing mechanisms. Specialty firearms included AR style rifles as well as the addition of rapid-fire modification devices, often referred to as “switches” which convert a semi-automatic firearm to fully-automatic. Discussions also included adding high-capacity magazines, or “clips”, with some having the capacity to hold 30, 50, or 100 rounds of ammunition.

The investigation resulted in the recovery of the following firearms and ammunition from the defendants:

57 firearms, 51 of which were ghost guns
38 9-millimeter semi-automatic pistols
Nine 5.56-milimmeter semi-automatic AR-15 style assault weapons
Two .40-caliber semi-automatic pistols
One .45 caliber revolver
Eighteen firearms outfitted with rapid fire modification devices, making them fully-automatic machine guns
Forty-six high-capacity ammunition feeding devices, including one 100 round drum magazine
Three silencers
Over 800 rounds of ammunition

“Today’s charges show that some criminals believe they can operate with impunity, in plain sight — the NYPD and our law enforcement partners exist to shatter that notion,” said NYPD Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell. “I commend and thank everyone involved in this extremely important joint investigation. And I assure New Yorkers that our combined efforts will remain precisely focused on holding fully accountable anyone who peddles illegal guns on our streets.”

“Through the hard work of all the partners involved in this investigation, we have removed dozens of illegal, dangerous firearms from our streets and taken out a criminal enterprise that had no regard for the potential impact of their actions,” said State Police Acting Superintendent Steven A. Nigrelli. “I commend the Attorney General’s Office and all our partners for their continued dedication to stopping the illegal trafficking of firearms into New York state.”

“Smith-Martin and his partner’s gunsmith careers ended today,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino. “With immediate resolve and action, law enforcement identified, investigated, and arrested these gun traffickers whose actions endangered public lives. I commend the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force and the New York Attorney General’s Office on their diligent work throughout this investigation.”

“I would like to thank New York Attorney General Letitia James, and the members of her Organized Crimes Task Force Bureau for their outstanding work in this investigation,” said Postal Inspector in Charge of the New York Division Daniel B. Brubaker. “Today, collaboration between our law enforcement partners is how crimes get solved and people are kept safe. No truer words can be spoken with the unsealing of today’s indictments. Fritz Pierre Louis, Devon Smith-Martin, and Hakeem Solomon conspired to use the U.S. Mail to obtain “ghost gun” parts. Once received, they manufactured illegal guns and then sold these un-serialized weapons to line their pockets. This type of greed puts people’s lives in jeopardy and fuels the cycle of violence that we are trying to eradicate from our society. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is the law enforcement arm of the U.S. Postal Service. Our proud mission is to protect our employees, infrastructure, and customers from criminal attack. Any time the U.S. Mail is used in furtherance of a crime, Postal Inspectors will be there to ensure that criminals are held responsible for their actions.”

The 438 count indictment — unsealed today before Queens County Supreme Court Judge Peter F. Vallone Jr. — charged the three individuals with multiple crimes, including Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the First, Second, and Third Degrees, Criminal Sale of a Ghost Gun in the Second Degree, Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, Criminal Possession of a Rapid-Fire Modification Device, and Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, among other charges. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum of 25 years in prison.

Those charged in today’s indictment include:

DEVON SMITH-MARTIN, 26, Suffolk, New York
FRITZ PIERRE-LOUIS, 46, Suffolk, New York
HAKEEM SOLOMON, 26, Sumter, South Carolina

The charges against the defendants are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Operation Ghost Runner is the latest example of Attorney General James’ ongoing efforts to take down illegal gun trafficking rings, help get dangerous guns and ammunition off New York streets, and stop ghost gun kits and ammunition from being mailed to New York residents. Through OCTF, Attorney General James has removed guns and firearm components from local communities and charged dangerous individuals for breaking New York state laws. In November 2022, Attorney General James sent cease and desist orders to 39 ammunition sellers demanding that they stop shipping ammunition directly to New York and warned them of serious legal consequences if they continue to violate New York’s law. In July 2020, Attorney General Letitia James ensured that 17 websites which manufacture and sell firearms or firearms components ceased selling nearly complete assault weapons into New York state. Additionally, through her successful gun buyback program, Attorney General James has been able to remove over 3,700 guns from New York communities since 2019.

In addition to our listed partners, the Attorney General would like to thank USPIS and Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz for their valuable participation and assistance in this investigation.

The investigation was led by members of NYDETF Group T-23, under the overall supervision of NYPD Deputy Inspector and NYPD Commanding Officer of the Drug Enforcement Task Force Thomas Kelly, NYPD DEA Acting Deputy Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Arroyo, and Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. DEA New York Division Frank A. Tarentino III. NYPD Assistant Chief Christopher McCormack is the Commanding Officer of the Criminal Task Force Division. Chief James Essig is the NYPD Chief of Detectives.

The investigation was led by OAG OCTF Detectives Brian Fleming and Brad Farrell, under the supervision of Supervising Detective Paul Grzegorski and Deputy Chief Andrew Boss. The Attorney General’s Investigations Division is led by Chief Oliver Pu-Folkes. The case is being prosecuted by OAG OCTF Assistant Deputy Attorney General Jason Navia, under the supervision of Downstate OCTF Deputy Chief Lauren Abinanti with the assistance of OCTF Legal Analyst Christine Cintron. 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.