JERSEY CITY, NJ – Police in New Jersey have located a stolen shipment of 100 guns and 200 large capacity magazines inside a Bergen County warehouse this week. The guns were stolen from freight train in transit from a Vermont firearms importer to a Louisiana weapons wholesaler.
Police say they recovered most of the cargo and a New Jersey woman has been arrested for the robbery.
Claudine Kammo, 43, of Union City was charged with second-degree unlawful possession of the firearms, third-degree receiving stolen property fourth-degree violation of gun permitting regulations, and fourth-degree unlawful possession of LCMs.
“The recovery of the brand new 9 mm semi-automatic handguns – each equipped with two LCMs – is one of the largest weapons seizures in New Jersey in recent years,” the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General said. “The seizure of the stolen cargo, and the arrest of the individual in possession of it, is the result of a fast-moving interstate action between the NJSP Weapons Trafficking North Unit (WTNU) and the NYPD Intelligence Division (Intelligence). The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) also provided assistance.”
Last Thursday, police reported the shipment was stolen when it was being transferred from a tractor-trailer to a rail car in Hudson County. A joint investigation by the New York City Police Department and the New Jersey State Police helped locate the stolen weapons.
The following day, detectives from both NJSP and NYPD executed a search warrant at the storage unit and recovered 97 Canik TP9 Elite SC 9 mm semi-automatic handguns and 194 LCMs packed in their shipping boxes and loaded in cardboard crates. The remaining firearms and LCMs from the stolen cargo were seized separately by detectives.
“There is little doubt that the 100 guns seized in this investigation would be used for violence and intimidation, and they have no place in communities on either side of the Hudson River,” said Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. “Thanks to the collaboration between the New Jersey State Police Weapons Trafficking North Unit and the NYPD, the array of illegal weapons seized will never make it into the wrong hands.”
“Our city and region are safer today because of the collaborative effort and exceptional dedication of everyone involved in this investigation,” said New York City Police Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell. “This case represents the NYPD’s steadfast work to protect those we serve by stopping the flow of illegal firearms and eradicating gun violence and I want to thank the NYPD’s Intelligence Division and our partners in the New Jersey State Police, the federal ATF, and the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office for their unwavering commitment to public safety.”