Attorney general makes major gun and drug trafficking bust in Dutchess County

February 15, 2024 Robert Abruzzese, Courthouse Editor

Counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl and firearms and ammunition recovered during the investigation.
Photos courtesy of the AG’s Office

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Attorney General Letitia James announced on Wednesday the successful dismantling of two major trafficking networks in Dutchess County that has led to the indictment of four individuals involved in the distribution of ghost guns and assault weapons, alongside seven others implicated in the trafficking of thousands of counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl.

The crackdown resulted in the seizure of 31 firearms, including untraceable ghost guns and high-capacity magazines, alongside approximately 5,000 fentanyl-laced pills with a street value estimated at $150,000. Authorities also confiscated around $55,000 in cash.

“The individuals arrested today operated a dangerous network that trafficked untraceable ghost guns and flooded New York communities with fentanyl,” said Attorney General James. “Today’s takedowns send a clear message that we will not allow anyone to fuel the epidemics of gun violence and drug addiction with their illegal activities.”

Four of these individuals were part of a gun trafficking network responsible for selling ghost guns, which are firearms without serial numbers making them hard to trace, and assault-style rifles.

The other seven individuals were part of a narcotics trafficking network that distributed thousands of counterfeit oxycodone pills, which were laced with the highly potent and dangerous opioid, fentanyl.

One of the individuals involved in these networks, operating out of a Valero gas station in LaGrangeville and his residence in Poughkeepsie, was caught selling untraceable ghost guns and counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl. This person, alongside his co-conspirators, used coded language to disguise their illicit activities, referring to the ghost guns as “ghosties” and the fentanyl-laced pills as “erks,” “urks” and “percs.”