5 charged with smuggling, selling untraceable 'ghost guns' in Queens

Five men have been charged with smuggling and selling untraceable "ghost" guns in Queens, according to New York Attorney General Letitia James.

James announced Wednesday that her office’s Organized Crime Task Force broke up the gun trafficking ring and its alleged members: Satveer Saini, 20, of East Elmhurst; Mateo Castro-Agudelo, 21, of Long Island City; Hargeny Fernandez-Gonzalez, 20, of Richmond Hill; Adam Youssef Senhaji-Rivas, 20, of Astoria; and Milanjit Sidhu, 20, of Greenwood, Indiana.

The 625-count indictment includes charges such as first-, second-, and third-degree criminal sale of a firearm, criminal possession of a firearm and conspiracy.

James said that the investigation yielded 86 recovered firearms, 55 of which were "ghost guns" — unserialized and untraceable weapons created by a user rather than an authorized corporate or government entity — and 25 which were assault weapons. More than 90 high-capacity magazines and hundreds of rounds of ammunition were also seized.

"When gun traffickers flood neighborhoods with untraceable firearms, they fuel violence that tears communities apart," James said in a news release.

Lawyers for Saini and Castro-Audelo, who have been arraigned, could not be reached for comment. Fernandez-Gonzalez’s attorney, Vivian Cedeno, said she had no immediate comment. Castro-Audelo and Saini pleaded not guilty in Queens Criminal Court and were remanded without bail. Fernandez-Gonzalez pleaded not guilty and bail was set at $2 million cash or $5 million bond.

Saini’s lawyer, James Kilduff, said, “We are still reviewing the accusatory instrument, which was just served today. My client pleaded not guilty and denies the allegations. We look forward to diligently fighting these charges in court.”

Online arraignment information for Sidhu and Senhaji-Rivas was not available.

From December 2023 until June 2024, investigators monitored the five men's activities and whereabouts, gathering evidence from controlled firearms purchase operations, video surveillance, social media posts, and financial and telephone records.

Allegedly, the defendants frequently supplied illegal guns to the operation. Fernandez-Gonzalez purchased 3D-printed ghost guns from Nassau County, while Sidhu and others were responsible for moving serialized firearms from Indiana across state lines, court records show. Ultimately, the weapons were brought to Queens and stored in an Elmhurst garage.

According to court documents, Saini sold the firearms throughout Queens, including at "sensitive locations" like the Louis C. Moser Playground in Jackson Heights. Castro-Agudelo used a guitar case to carry firearms to and from sales.

Additionally, prosecutors said that Castro-Agudelo posed with the illegal guns in pictures on social media accounts, often displaying significant amounts of cash as well.

All five defendants have been charged with distributing and/or possessing illegal firearms, which are class B violent felonies. If convicted of one count, they face up to 25 years in prison.