BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Gov. Hochul announced Thursday that NYS police are reporting a 104 percent increase in gun seizures this year.
This boost came from a months-long investigation that resulted in state police recovering a large number of firearms and the arrests of suspects involved in a gun-trafficking ring.
This investigation was carried out by the State Police Gun Trafficking Interdiction Unit, which was created during the summer of 2021.
The GTIU received $2.5 million to fund 14 of its positions, and the governor's office credits this investment with the crack down on illegal firearms.
"We continue to make real progress in our aggressive fight against the gun violence that has plagued New York," Hochul said. "Through our support for the new State Police Gun Trafficking Interdiction Unit, we are focused on investigating and bringing to justice those who are trafficking guns into the state and selling them illegally to other criminals who are intent on circumventing the state's gun regulations."
Just this year, the GTIU has seized 795 guns compared to 389 guns seized during the same period in 2021.
