Nine suspects accused of trafficking dozens of guns from the south to New York were charged Wednesday — including a number of Brooklyn gang members who allegedly flaunted the illegal weapons in music videos, authorities said.
As part of the gun-running scheme, Duvaughn Wilson acted as a “straw purchaser” in Georgia, buying some 87 guns on behalf of his cohorts, federal authorities in the Southern District of New York charged.
Wilson’s co-defendants, including members of the Brooklyn-based “Blixky Gang” then either sold some of the weapons in Georgia, or brought them to New York on discount buses that run from the south to the Big Apple.
Some of the weapons were confiscated by law enforcement before they reached New York — but a number of the firearms ended up in the hands of the suspects, including Blixky members who flashed them in music videos.
In one of the videos for a song called “Word to Folk,” the gang members show off the guns and remove the magazines to show that they’re loaded, according to an indictment.
In another video for the song “Guns in the Booth,” the gang members flash the guns on stacks of cash, according to the feds.
“Today’s arrests shut down the alleged gun pipeline of these nine defendants,” Manhattan US Attorney Audrey Strauss said.
“These arrests should also send a message to anyone who is thinking about illegally selling guns to New Yorkers or illegally bringing guns to New York: We and our law enforcement partners are watching,” she added.
Three of the suspects remain at large, authorities said. The remaining six are expected to be presented in federal court later Wednesday.