Ghost guns, machine gun, bombs among illegal arsenal, police say
Illegal arsenal seized in Connecticut
Connecticut State Police confiscated more than a hundred firearms, including several ghost guns, ammunition, and homemade bombs from the home and vehicle of a New Britain resident. Authorities charged the man with firearms trafficking, selling assault weapons, possession of a machine gun, and selling large-capacity magazines. Gov. Ned Lamont called the discovery "shocking."
Authorities in Connecticut seized dozens of ghost guns, thousands of rounds of ammunition, several bombs, and more from a man's home and cars earlier this week in a case the governor called "shocking."
A task force of state troopers, local police officers, and federal agents confiscated the arsenal and charged Steven Gerent-Mastrianni, 39, of New Britain on Tuesday with numerous crimes including firearms trafficking, selling assault weapons, possession of a machine gun, and selling large-capacity magazines.
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"This is shocking — this is a flea market of illegal guns. That's a machine gun over there," Gov. Ned Lamont said at the press conference, pointing at weapons displayed on a table. "These are semi-automatic, automatic weapons that have nothing to do with legitimate hunting."
Law enforcement officials said on Wednesday they believe the man was manufacturing and selling a variety of illegal firearms. The man was apparently making firearm components with a 3D printer, police said.
"This guy was an entrepreneur. He had a cottage industry going," Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner James Rovella said at a news conference. "He was able to grab raw materials, he was able to acquire parts, he was able to assemble firearms, construct them. He conducted his own testing, distribution, and supply. Pretty busy guy."
Authorities executing search warrants at Gerent-Mastrianni's home and vehicles found a belt-fed machine gun and several other fully-automatic firearms, semiautomatic rifles, shotguns, pistols, pistols with threaded barrels, hundreds of high-capacity magazines, more than 30,000 rounds of ammunition, 3D-printed gun parts, components that can convert semiautomatic guns to fully automatic, and three homemade explosive devices.
Gerent-Mastrianni was detained on $500,000 bail. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer who could respond to the allegations. Police said Gerent-Mastrianni, who holds a valid pistol permit, had an illegal ghost gun pistol on him when he was arrested.
"This proliferation of illegal guns, this proliferation of ghost guns, which are no serial number, not made to be traced, gets through TSA, is incredibly dangerous going on," Lamont said.
With The Associated Press.