Guns seized by the New York Police Department in the largest seizure of illegal guns in the city's history, are displayed during a press conference, Aug. 19, 2013 in New York City. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
Three men were arrested in New York City Thursday night for selling smuggled firearms to undercover police.
Maquan Moore, 29, originally of Florida, and Morris Wilson, of Orlando, Florida, were arrested on the night of Feb.1 after the last of three separate illegal firearms purchases made by undercover NYPD detectives and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive agents.
The third man was arrested later.
The three men ran a gun-running ring from Florida to New York City. PIX11 reports that Wilson would board a bus in Florida with a load of firearms, hand them off in New York City to Maquan, and Maquan would deliver the illegal weapons to the third man who worked in an Equinox Fitness Club in Greenwich Village.
That man used storage lockers at the gym to hide the guns until they were sold.
The three were arrested after a long-term investigation by NYPD undercover detectives and ATF agents, which resulted in the seizure of at least 50 weapons, brought into New York on three separate trips, 850WFTL reports.
(Screenshot via PIX11)
NBC-New York reported that the first load was transported in October 2017. After police arranged the buys, the exchanges were made outside the gym. These weapons included several 9mm pistols, a .380 Kahr pistol, and an AR-15 assault-style rifle.
Moore worked as a security guard at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. Wilson’s age and place of employment have not be released. The name of the Equinox gym employee has also not yet been revealed.
A representative for Equinox where the guns were stored told PIX11, “We are fully cooperating with the authorities to gather as much information as possible at this time.”
The Equinox Fitness Club at 97 Greenwich Ave. where the illegal weapons were stored. (PIX11 screenshot)
Federal prosecutors are expected to release specific charges and detailed information during the day of Friday, Feb. 2.
New York City has long been the point of sale for weapons purchased in the Southern states, where lax gun-law enforcement makes mass buys easier. Guns travel north up the I-95 corridor and are sold on the streets of New York to people who possibly could not buy firearms legally, or who would not want their names associated with particular weapons.
About 90 percent of these firearms are smuggled into New York from places like Georgia, Virginia, the Carolinas, and Florida, PIX11 reported.
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