SYRACUSE -- A year-long investigation into gun trafficking ends with five indictments related to the illegal possession and sale of handguns and drugs.
Onondaga County Sheriff's deputies made the announcement at a news conference Friday morning.
During the course of the investigation, undercover detectives were able to purchase 8 illegally possessed handguns and a small amount of crack cocaine. Investigators say the suspects behind the operations have been involved in a wide range of criminal activity throughout Onondaga County, including shootings, stabbings, robberies and burglaries over the last year and a half.
Authorities say they recovered several handguns, including .22 caliber revolvers, .25 caliber semi-automatics, a .38 revolver, a .380 semi-automatic and a 9mm semi-automatic.
"There's time bombs that are waiting to go off. These guns are not going to be used for target practice or for hunting or for self-preservation. They're going to be used to inflict harm on other human beings, and to kill other human beings, and that's not going to happen because of the brave work done here today" said Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick.
Onondaga County's Special Investigations Unit teamed up with the District Attorney's Office and and the state-sponsored Operation IMPACT program in the investigation. Syracuse police, NYS Parole, U.S. Marshals Service and State Police VFW unit all assisted in today's arrests.
The goal of Operation IMPACT is to reduce gun violence and target repeat offenders through intelligence-led policing.
