Authorities say seven members of a gun trafficking ring that transported illegal firearms from Ohio to New Jersey have been indicted on numerous charges, including racketeering and conspiracy.
New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewel announced the indictment Wednesday. He says at least 30 guns made their way between the two states from April 2016 through July 2017.
Authorities say 25-year-old Chucky Scott, of Columbus, Ohio, was the ringleader. They say another Columbus resident, 26-year-old Anthony Hammond, bought guns for Scott in Ohio and helped him deliver some of the weapons to Camden, New Jersey.
The other five defendants are New Jersey men who allegedly served as middlemen to help arrange gun sales in Camden. Police identified them as Eduardo Caban, 40, of Camden, New Jersey, Eric Moore, 47, of Camden, New Jersey, Tymere Jennings, 35, of Marlton, New Jersey, Jamar Folk, aka Ibraheem Abdullah, 33, of Camden, New Jersey, and Darren Harville, 51, of Camden, New Jersey.
Officials say the investigation began when they determined Caban was trafficking heroin and guns to Camden. Caban allegedly illegally sold 10 guns, including assault rifles and 9mm pistols. Caban was obtaining the guns from Scott, according to investigators. New Jersey State Police traced the weapons to Hammond in Ohio, officials said.
Hammond and Scott allegedly went together to stores where Hammond would buy several guns for Scott. Scott would then take photographs of the guns and text them to his middlemen in Camden who would then find people to purchase the guns for prices set by Scott, according to officials. Investigators say the middlemen added a "tax" to Scott's price and kept the tax as their profit.
Once the orders were in place, Scott would drive to Camden to deliver the weapons to the middlemen, officials said.
Investigators say a total of 17 guns linked to the weapons trafficking ring were recovered, including 14 handguns, two AK-47 assault rifles and an AR-15 assault rifle.
"Simply put, each gun that we seize or take off the street is a life or multiple lives that we save in the process," said New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal.
Caban and Baron Coleman, 38, of Philadelphia, were also indicted on separate drug charges, officials said.
It wasn’t known Wednesday if any of the defendants have retained attorneys.
