8 NYPD officers arrested in gun trafficking scheme

Eight active duty and retired New York police officers were arrested on Tuesday for trafficking guns with an estimated street value of over 1 million U.S. dollars. "The defendants transported 20 firearms, including three M-16 rifles, one shotgun and 16 handguns, the majority of which had obliterated or altered serial numbers, across state lines from New Jersey to New York," according to a complaint filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court. Additionally, investigators said the accused also tried to transport slot machines, stolen cigarettes, and counterfeit goods across state lines. The assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York office called the crimes "reprehensible," noting in a statement that "the public trusts the police not only to enforce the law, but to obey it. These crimes, as alleged in the complaint, do nothing but undermine public trust and confidence in law enforcement." The case came amid the campaign advocated by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg with the central theme of getting guns off the streets of New York City.