Queens Man Busted Smuggling, Selling Guns In Long Island: Feds

SOUTH OZONE PARK, QUEENS -- A Queens man is facing federal gun trafficking charges after he allegedly smuggled guns from Virginia and sold them on illegally on Long Island.

Derrick Hughes, 47, was busted in his South Ozone Park home earlier this week for his part in selling at least 19 guns - including an AR-15 multi-caliber rifle - on the black market, prosecutors said. Hughes allegedly worked with Virginia man Ronald Robinson, 43, to traffic the guns into New York.

"The defendants' illegal trafficking of firearms brought deadly weapons to the streets of Long Island," said U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue.

Federal prosecutors said the duo smuggled guns from Virginia to Long Island between January and April. They allegedly sold at least seven of the black market weapons on the Queens/Nassau County border in Rosedale and Valley Stream, according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday.

"Many gangs rely on illegal weapons to carry out criminal acts because they're harder to trace," said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney.

Robinson would purchase two or three of guns at a time in Virginia, which he and Hughes personally drove up to Long Island via Interstate 95, Sweeney said. Hughes then arranged meetings with potential customers to sell the guns on the black market, according to the indictment.

Federal authorities worked with state and local police departments to bust the duo's smuggling operation. Both men were arrested and arraigned on federal gun trafficking conspiracy charges Wednesday. They are awaiting bail hearings behind bars at federal detention centers in New York and Virginia, respectively.

If convicted, each faces up to five years in prison.

Lead photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images