By Michael Clements

The arrest of five people has effectively shut down an alleged gun trafficking operation that armed criminals in Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and St. Georges, Grenada, according to U.S. Attorney’s offices in North Carolina and Washington.

The quintet was arrested on a 13-count indictment issued Oct. 14 by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina. They are charged with conspiracy to traffic firearms, firearms trafficking, and making false statements to a federally licensed firearms dealer, U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced during a press conference in Washington on Oct. 21.

Pirro said the Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and police in several states—including the Metropolitan Police Department in the District of Columbia and the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, which is chaired by the Homeland Security Advisor—investigated the case as a team.

The D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force was established by President Donald Trump. Its aim is to curb violent crime, address narcotics and firearms offenses, enforce quality-of-life and transit rules, and support local and federal police agencies.

Pirro described the alleged operation as a “conveyer belt of weapons feeding violence up the east coast.” She said the co-conspirators allegedly provided approximately 40 firearms to individuals across multiple states.

“Today, that conveyer belt has stopped,” she said during the press conference.

According to Boyle’s office, Brian “B” Agee, 40, is charged with one count of conspiracy to traffic firearms, six counts of firearms trafficking and aiding and abetting, and six counts of aiding and abetting the making of a false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer.

Frank “Fatboy” Rayvone Harris, 38, is charged with one count of conspiracy to traffic firearms.

Arnise Lecresha Young, 33, is charged with one count of conspiracy to traffic firearms, six counts of aiding and abetting firearms trafficking, and six counts of aiding and abetting the making of a false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer.

Antonique Whitaker, 34, is charged with one count of conspiracy to traffic firearms, two counts of aiding and abetting firearms trafficking, and two counts of aiding and abetting the making of a false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer.

Christian Shedetta Atkinson, 30, is charged with one count of conspiracy to traffic firearms in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 933(a)(2) and (a)(3), and with one count of making a false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro speaks during a press conference about the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting, at the Justice Department in Washington on April 27, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

Pirro said she was especially disappointed in the two female suspects who hold Special Police Officer licenses in the District of Columbia.

“I am outraged that these people are special police officers and they are in the position of collecting money for the furthering of the trafficking of guns,” she said. “And drugs are intertwined with that.”

Much of the court record is sealed, so specific details of the alleged crimes are not available. But Pirro said the charges are rooted in straw purchases. A straw purchase occurs when a person who can legally purchase a firearm buys a gun for a person who is prohibited from buying or owning firearms.

Pirro and others at the press conference said the accused purchased guns in North Carolina, then moved them north along the east coast where the guns eventually turned up at crime scenes or in the possession of prohibited persons.

Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Robert Cekada (L) is interviewed by Second Amendment advocate and podcaster Mark Walters during the Gun Rights Policy Conference in Dallas, Texas, on Sept. 26, 2026. Michael Clements/The Epoch Times

“These guns were purchased under false pretenses in a deliberate act of lying on a federal form,” Pirro said.

Pirro said federal investigators uncovered the operation when they were able to link various guns to crimes in different states and trace them back to the same sources.

She said the first suspect gun was a Glock 30 pistol found at a crime scene in the District of Columbia on Dec. 31, 2024. Through 2025 and into 2026, more firearms were found in Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia. Suspect guns were found during traffic stops, drug arrests, and searches of known drug dens. They were usually taken from people who could not legally possess guns.

But they all originated from North Carolina, Pirro said.

ATF’s Unique Tools

ATF Director Robert Cekada said the investigation is an example of how the agency’s gun tracing and National Integrated Ballistic Information Network capabilities benefit law enforcement.

He said the ATF has assets no other agency has. This includes Federal Firearms License holders who operate gun businesses. Being the first link in a firearm’s chain of custody, they often pick up on signs of a straw purchase.

Boyle agreed. He said the ATF provided the information investigators needed to move ahead.

“They found a pipeline and they let us know about it,” he said.

A reporter noted that in the past, straw purchases were not always prosecuted and asked Pirro if that had changed. Pirro said the Trump administration is focused on enforcing the law.

“I don’t care if it’s a grandma or a dirtbag. If you lie on the application, that’s a crime,” she said.

The defendants face up to 15 years in federal prison for conspiracy to traffic firearms and firearms trafficking offenses, and up to 10 years in federal prison for making false statements to firearms dealers.