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4 Charged After Police Seize Ghost Gun Materials During Drug Bust In North Baltimore

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Materials used to manufacture illegal guns were seized from a home in North Baltimore where investigators believe a drug and gun trafficking network was working for several months.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison gave kudos to the men and women on the unit who brought charges against four suspects. He said they seized, "1200 grams of suspected ecstasy, over 1900 pills of suspected fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, scales for drug distribution, 15 firearms and parts to manufacture 40 additional handguns also known as ghost guns."

So far this year the department has recovered 140 ghost guns --  guns that cannot be traced because they are made with miscellaneous parts or have no serial number.

The number of ghost guns taken off the street is 400 percent higher this year than in 2019.

"These firearms have found themselves in the hands of criminals, prohibited convicted felons and gun traffickers because they know we cannot track them back to their origin," said Harrison. He added that many people in possession of illegal guns are under the age of 21 with the youngest being just 14-years-old.

"What you see before us is guns we know would have been used to rob someone. We know would have been used to shoot someone or kill someone in Baltimore City. That is how we need to enter into every day, making sure we are curing ourselves and ridding ourselves of this disease of violence," said Mayor Brandon Scott.

Nineteen-year-old Jordan Jones, 28-year-old Edward Miles, 39-year-old Latoya McCoy, and 39-year-old Norman Forest face a slew of charges related to possession, manufacturing and distribution of illegal drugs and guns.

"Today we take a step further in our fight against criminal networks by stopping the flow of illegal firearm sales and destructive drugs in our communities," said Jim Mancuso, Special Agent in Charge of the US Department of Homeland Security in Baltimore City.

Watch the press conference below:

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