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One of them, Carlo M. De Leon De Jesus, 26, peddled four of the firearms and also sold fentanyl and cocaine, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Explosives conducted three controlled buys from DeJesus from this past July through September, the U.S. attorney said.
The conversations were secretly recorded, he said, as the confidential informant bought:
- a Glock 19 pistol for $1,500 in cash;
- an Extreme Gun Works X15 short-barreled 5.56-caliber rifle and a Century Arms International AK variant style rifle for a combined $5,500 in cash;
- a .22-caliber Beretta ARX 160 semi-automatic handgun for $2,400 in cash.
All were manufactured out of state, a complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Newark says.
The government operative also purchased three-quarters of an ounce of fentanyl and a little over a half-ounce of cocaine -- for a combined $1,100 in cash -- that DeJesus had someone deliver following the second gun buy, according to the ATF complaint.
During the third, it says, the informant also purchased nearly two ounces of fentanyl from DeJesus for $1,600.
The second defendant, Victor Gonzalez, 36, sold the confidential informant a Polymer 80 pistol missing a serial number for $1,500 om cash near a car dealership on South Orange Avenue in Newark, Sellinger said.
Both he and DeJesus are charged with unlicensed firearms dealing and trafficking firearms in interstate commerce, the U.S. attorney said. DeLeon was also charged with conspiracy to sell fentanyl, he said.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer ordered both men held until trial following a hearing in federal court in Newark on Monday, Oct. 2.
Federal agents from different agencies teamed up to help make the case, Sellinger said.
He credited special agents of the ATF's Newark Field Division, special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Newark and special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark with the investigation leading to the arrests and charges.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Barry O’Connell of the Sellinger’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF)/Narcotics Unit in Newark is handling the prosecution for the government.
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