Investigators say they have put a massive gun-trafficking operation out of business.
They say the group is responsible for bringing more than 400 guns into Baltimore City just this year.
The investigation has been building since May -- all of it leading to an undercover operation last Saturday, December 12th, at the Motel 6 off I-95 and Caton Avenue in Southwest Baltimore.
Investigators say several suspects arrived thinking they were going to buy guns.
Instead, six people were arrested and a seventh was taken into custody a short time later.
“The individuals arrested weren't the end consumers. These individuals were acting as retailers, who were planning to quickly re-sell these weapons to violent criminal in Baltimore City,” said Special Agent Bill McMullen, the head of the Baltimore Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
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Investigators say the guns the suspects tried to buy include an AR-15 and an AK-47, along with several hand-guns.
All of them came from a suspect in Tennessee. Investigators say the suspect had been buying guns in that state all year, and transporting them to Baltimore City -- as many as 30 guns every week.
“This criminal organization was responsible for transporting and selling over 400 weapons trafficked from Tennessee onto the streets of Baltimore throughout 2015,” Sp. Agent McMullen said.
Police are now trying to connect the guns and the suspects to violent crimes in Baltimore City.
“As a result of this investigation the supply chain that was bringing illegal guns from Tennessee here to Baltimore has been put out of business,” said Rod Rosenstein, the US Attorney for Baltimore.
Investigators say there are more people involved with this weapons trafficking ring, and they expect to make more arrests.
Suspects arrested in connection with the sting on Dec. 12:
- Rodney Donell Henson, aka "Mook," 28, of Odenton
- Antonio Darnell Ennis, aka "Hawk" and "Peanut," 32, of Glen Burnie
- Alvin Gabriel Arciaga, 28, of Brooklyn, Md.
- Delray Jamare Randall, aka "Black," 34, of Odenton
- Ernest McCutcheon, aka "Ernie," 32 of Baltimore
- Leopold Fosso Kengni, aka "Kenny C" and "Kenny G," 24, of Odenton
- Leonard Eugene Goliday, aka "Lenny", 43, of Laurel
