HSI New York Task Force Investigation Leads to Takedown of Ghost Gun Trafficking Operation

Defendants allegedly sold firearms at local playground, mall; investigation recovers 86 firearms, including 55 ghost guns

NEW YORK — On July 17, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York Special Agent in Charge Ivan J. Arvelo announced a 625-count indictment charging five individuals for their involvement in a gun-trafficking operation that sold dozens of ghost guns, assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in Queens.

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An investigation led by HSI New York’s LaGuardia Airport Border Enforcement Task Force, in coordination with the Office of the New York Attorney General and the New York City Police Department (NYPD) recovered 86 firearms — including 55 ghost guns and 25 assault weapons — along with over 90 high-capacity magazines and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. The individuals involved in the operation transported 3D printed ghost guns assembled in Nassau County and serialized firearms purchased in Indiana into Queens, where they were stored and sold.

“The defendants are accused of amassing a cache of illegal high-powered rifles, handguns and semiautomatic weapons that could have undoubtedly been used to promote violence and further cause irreparable devastation,” said Arvelo. “They allegedly displayed sheer disregard for the public’s safety and placed their own selfish gain above all else. HSI New York's LaGuardia Airport Border Enforcement Security Task Force has stood at the front lines of combating the gun violence epidemic and utilizes every tool and resource in its arsenal to do so. I commend the New York Attorney General's Office, the NYPD and our law enforcement partners for ensuring the safety of New Yorkers every day.”

Arvelo also expressed gratitude for HSI Indiana, the ATF’s Indianapolis III field office, the Queens District Attorney’s Office, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Ghost Gun Initiative, the NYPD’s Major Case Field Intelligence Team; the NYPD’s 115th Precinct Field Intelligence Team, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Garden City Police Department, the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, the U.S. attorney’s offices from the Southern District of Indiana and the Eastern District of New York, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection for their valuable assistance and participation in this investigation.

The investigation began in late 2023 and focused on the activities of Satveer Saini and his associates, Mateo Castro-Agudelo, Hargeny Fernandez-Gonzalez, Adam Youssef Senhaji-Rivas and Milanjit Sidhu. The investigation included controlled firearms purchase operations, covert video surveillance, social media monitoring and analysis of financial and telephone records.

According to the investigation, Saini, Fernandez-Gonzalez and Senhaji-Rivas paid over $27,000 to purchase firearms from Indiana, which has less restrictive gun laws than New York. Early in the investigation, Saini and Castro-Agudelo were driving from Indianapolis to Queens with weapons purchased in Indiana when they were stopped for speeding by the Ohio State Highway Patrol in Medina County. The stop recovered nine unloaded serialized handguns from inside Saini’s rental car. From that point on, Fernandez-Gonzalez began paying Sidhu to drive weapons from Indianapolis to Queens.

Fernandez-Gonzalez also bought 3D printed ghost guns in Nassau County and brought them to Queens for other members of the trafficking ring to sell. Saini, Castro-Agudelo and Senhaji-Rivas all sold trafficked firearms, high-capacity magazines and ammunition during the course of the investigation.

Saini sold these firearms in various locations in Queens, including at the Louis C. Moser Playground in Jackson Heights on a weekday afternoon and in the parking lot of the Queens Center Mall in Elmhurst.

Castro-Agudelo and Fernandez-Gonzalez used a garage in Elmhurst to store weapons, at one point hiding 12 firearms — including seven ghost guns — and numerous high-capacity magazines inside a guitar case in the garage. Castro-Agudelo used the guitar case to transport firearms and ammunition to his customers. At least one of the firearms sales he made took place outside a smoke shop in Jackson Heights where he worked.

Castro-Agudelo posted pictures of these guns on social media accounts, including on a publicly available X account, displaying many of the guns and significant amounts of cash.

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The investigation recovered 86 firearms, including 55 ghost guns and 25 assault weapons, in addition to over 90 high-capacity magazines and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

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The five individuals who were charged with conspiracy in the fourth degree, criminal sale of a firearm in the first degree, and/or criminal possession of a firearm in the first degree and other related charges are:

• Hargeny Fernandez-Gonzalez, 20, of Richmond Hill.
• Satveer Saini, 20, of East Elmhurst.
• Adam Youssef Senhaji-Rivas, 20, of Astoria.
• Milanjit Sidhu, 20, of Greenwood, Indiana.
• Mateo Castro-Agudelo, 21, of Long Island City.

Each of the five individuals has been charged with criminal sale of a firearm in the first degree or criminal possession of a firearm in the first degree, or both. Each is a Class B violent felony. If convicted of one count of either of these crimes, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

“When gun traffickers flood neighborhoods with untraceable firearms, they fuel violence that tears communities apart,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. “This investigation successfully stopped a dangerous gun trafficking operation by removing dozens of ghost guns and assault weapons from our streets. I will continue to use every available resource to stop illegal gun trafficking and protect our communities from the dangers of gun violence. I thank our partners in this investigation for their diligent work to keep New Yorkers safe.”

“These charges highlight law enforcement’s relentless efforts to rid our streets of untraceable ghost guns and other illegal firearms, leading to New York City’s ongoing reductions in shootings and homicides this year,” said NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban. “Simply put, our investigators save lives when they disrupt and dismantle the dangerous networks behind the manufacture, transport and sale of these illicit weapons. I commend and thank the New York Attorney General’s Office and all of the NYPD’s local, state and federal partners for their hard work on this important case and their continued dedication to our shared public safety mission.”

This investigation was led by HSI New York's LaGuardia Airport Border Enforcement Security Task Force, which is housed within HSI New York and consists of HSI special agents and task force officers from the NYPD, the Federal Air Marshal Service, the Queens District Attorney’s Office and the DEA.