Men Caught Allegedly Selling Untraceable AR-15 ‘Ghost Guns’ in New Jersey
Four men were arrested and charged in New Jersey on Monday for allegedly conspiring to sell untraceable assault rifles assembled from online kits known as “ghost guns,” authorities said.
It’s the first time people have been charged under a new state law that makes it illegal to buy, build, or sell these often plastic, but deadly firearms. The “ghost guns” were ordered online without serial numbers and came with instructions on how to finish them to be functional firearms, authorities said. They were allegedly sold for $1,100 to $1,300 each—twice the price of a legal assault rifle.
“Assault rifles like these pose an especially deadly threat to law enforcement, innocent bystanders, and others when placed in the wrong hands, and suffice it to say no one conducted any background checks here," Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said in a Monday press conference. “They are not registered. They don’t have serial numbers and they are sold without any background check process whatsoever.