Posted on: January 30, 2025 03:10 PM

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Attorney General James announces convictions of Hudson valley firearms and fentanyl traffickers

New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced the convictions of nine members of firearms and narcotics trafficking rings that sold ghost guns, assault-style rifles, and counterfeit oxycodone pills containing deadly amounts of fentanyl in Dutchess County. The ringleader, Muayad Qader, was sentenced on January 24 to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to four felonies. The primary supplier of firearms to the gun trafficking operation, Jason Knapp, was sentenced to 40 years in prison on January 17 after being convicted at trial for the sale and possession of 12 firearms, as well as Conspiracy. The remaining two members of the gun trafficking operation have also been convicted and are awaiting sentencing, along with the five remaining defendants charged for their roles in the narcotics trafficking operation.

“These dangerous criminals flooded New York communities with untraceable ghost guns and counterfeit opioids containing deadly amounts of fentanyl,” said Attorney General James. “This case is a significant victory in my office’s efforts to turn the tide on the crises of gun violence and opioid addiction. The convictions and sentences we secured are putting a stop to deadly gun and drug trafficking operations, protecting New Yorkers in the Hudson Valley. “These convictions speak to the tremendous interagency coordination and cooperation necessary to get dangerous individuals, illegal drugs, and weapons off our streets,” said New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James. “As a result, a major drug trafficking and weapons operation has been shut down. These substances destroy communities and put lives at risk. I want to thank our members and partners at the Attorney General’s Office for their tenacious dedication to tracking illegal drugs and weapons and intercepting them at their source.”

The investigation resulted in the indictment of four individuals on 154 counts for trafficking firearms and recovered 31 firearms. These included 14 unserialized AR-style ghost gun rifles, two serialized non-compliant AR-style rifles, a defaced AR-style rifle, a defaced magazine-fed shotgun, a Polymer-80 ghost gun pistol, and a defaced Glock-21 pistol, as well as high-capacity magazines and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

A separate 63-count indictment charged seven defendants with trafficking thousands of counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl. The investigation also recovered approximately 5,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl with a street value of about $150,000 and approximately $55,000 in cash.

From AG