SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Springfield police have seized five firearms, including an unfinished ghost gun, as well as a trafficking amount of heroin and cocaine following three search warrants throughout the city Tuesday.
According to Springfield Police Spokesperson Ryan Walsh, police received three search warrants on Tuesday around 2:48 p.m. for “The Smoking Pot” business on Bridge Street, an apartment at the Overland Lofts on Chestnut Street and another apartment on Lombard Street. The warrants come from a several week-long investigation into an uptick in shots fired incidents and neighbors complaining in the area.
During the search of the apartment at Overland Lofts, police seized the following:
- Tan Maxim Defense AR Pistol with optic loaded with 19 rounds of ammunition
- Taurus Millennium G2 Firearm with a 12 rounds magazine
- Black Glock Semi-Automatic Firearm loaded with 11 rounds of ammunition in a 12 round magazine
- 30 round magazine loaded with 13 rounds of Ammunition
- 17 Round Magazine
- Glock Firearm Parts
- Polymer 80 Lower and Metal Slide aka Ghost Gun Parts
- 113 Half Packs of Heroin which equates to about 5650 bags of Heroin
- 114 Grams of Crack-Cocaine
- 453 Grams of Powder Cocaine
- $28,023 in cash
- 490 Grams of Marijuana in addition to 101 additional bags of marijuana
- Five Hallucinogenic mushroom bars
Police seized the following from “The Smoking Pot” on Bridge Street:
- Marijuana Wax
- Pre-rolled Marijuana Joints/Cigarettes
- Three small containers and one large container of Marijuana
- Three Display Containers of Marijuana
- $274 in cash
Officers also seized the following from an apartment on Lombard Street:
- Smith & Wesson M&P Shield .380 Caliber firearm with a 9 round magazine loaded with 9 rounds of ammunition
- Tactical Vest
- 202 Grams of Marijuana
- $454
Springfield police have yet to release if there were any arrests following the search warrants.
In a statement sent to 22News, Springfield Police Superintendent Cheryl Clapprood stated, “Since the creation of our Firearms Investigation Unit our Detectives have worked tirelessly to get illegal guns off our streets at a rate that stacks up against any department in the country. I’d like to thank Captain Brian Keenan and his Detectives for their work thus far in this investigation, but the work is not yet done. From year to year we are seeing a similar amount of shooting incidents, the difference is that this year we have recovered nearly twice as many shell casings. As you can see with the type of arsenal that was recovered on Tuesday these high capacity firearms, Semi and Fully Automatic Firearms and Ghost Guns are too easily accessible to criminals. Our Officers and Detectives will continue to be proactive in getting these dangerous weapons off the street and we need our judges to help keep these dangerous felons off our streets as well.”
Mayor Domenic J. Sarno states, “Tremendous work by our brave and dedicated men and women of our Springfield Police Department, especially from our Firearms Investigation Unit under the direction of Captain Brian Keenan. Our Springfield Police Detectives and Officers, along with our public safety partners, continue to seize numerous illegal guns, including ghost guns, drugs and other paraphernalia. It is because of the hard work from our detectives and officers that we were able to secure a warrant and seize this poison and take these illegal guns off our streets and out of our neighborhoods. Our dedicated Springfield Police Officers will continue with their investigation and will find those responsible for dealing this poison in our community. When that happens, Police Superintendent Cheryl Clapprood and I, along with our residents and business community, will again ask our courts to hold those suspects responsible for their crimes.”
The Springfield Police Firearms Investigative Unit is investigating the incidents.
