Eight Sacramento-area men have been indicted by a federal grand jury with manufacturing and dealing in firearms without a license.

Woodland and West Sacramento police were indirectly involved in the case, according to the U.S. Attorney General’s Office in Sacramento.

The federal grand jury returned a 70-count indictment Thursday against those involved, according to Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner and ATF Special Agent in Charge Jill Snyder.

According to court documents, between Feb. 6 and Sept. 28, on 24 occasions, the defendants, either individually or together, met with an undercover ATF agent and sold him a variety of firearms, including rifles, AR-15 type rifles, AR-15 type short-barreled rifles, revolvers, pistols, and silencers. In all, the sales involved 67 firearms and 38 silencers.

Additionally, 71 firearms and 62 silencers were recovered during the arrest of certain defendants and ensuing execution of search warrants. In total, 238 firearms and silencers were recovered.

Many of the firearms did not have a serial number or other identification markings and were manufactured from unfinished lower receivers, commonly known as “80 percent” lower receivers or “ghost guns.” None of the silencers had a serial number or other identification marking, as is required for firearms under the law. Further, many of the firearms were short-barreled rifles, which must be registered on the National Firearms Registration and Record. None of the short-barreled rifles sold to the undercover agent were registered to any of the defendants.

According to court documents, the firearms sold to the undercover agent were supplied by Joseph Latu, Algernon Tamasoa, Keith White, John Ortiz, Charles Tucker, Lonel Pascan, and Daniel Bennett and David Bennett.

Many of those firearms were manufactured from firearm parts by Tucker, Pascan, Daniel Bennett, and David Bennett. At the time he was manufacturing firearms, David Bennett worked as a San Joaquin County Sheriff correctional officer.

“High-capacity assault rifles, with silencers but without serial numbers, are some of the most lethal weapons that criminals can get their hands on,” said U.S. Attorney Wagner. “Manufacturing and selling these weapons for profit, without complying with federal licensing rules, is both a serious crime and a serious threat to public safety.”

Woodland Public Safety Chief Dan Bellini stated at a press conference in Sacramento that “It was only through the collaboration of the various law enforcement agencies involved in this investigation that we were successful in bringing these charges.”

According to complaints filed in the case, on several occasions in August and September, the undercover agent met with Latu, Tucker, and Pascan to discuss a large-scale purchase of AR-15 type rifles and silencers. Latu, Tucker, and Pascan agreed to manufacture 50 short-barreled AR-15 type rifles and 50 silencers, which would be sold to the undercover agent in early October.

On Oct. 6, the undercover agent met with Latu, Tucker, and Pascan at the Yolo County Airport in Davis. Latu, Tucker, and Pascan brought 50 unmarked, unserialized short-barreled AR-15 type rifles and 50 unmarked, unserialized silencers, which they intended to sell to the undercover agent.

After Latu, Tucker, and Pascan showed the undercover agent the firearms and silencers, a team of law enforcement officials arrested the three defendants. At the time of his arrest, Pascan had a handgun concealed in his waistband and a second handgun was under the front passenger seat of the vehicle. Later that day, law enforcement authorities arrested Tamasoa, White, and Ortiz. On Oct. 14, authorities arrested Daniel Bennett and David Bennett.

In addition to the firearms charges, Tamasoa was also charged with selling MDMA to the undercover agent in a transaction on April 3, 2015. Tamasoa and Ortiz were separately indicted in an unrelated narcotics case on June 18. Both defendants were released on bond in that case. Arrested were Joseph Latu, 29, of Elk Grove; Algernon Tamasoa, 27, of Sacramento; Keith White, 40, of Vallejo, John Ortiz, 43, of Vallejo; Charles Tucker, 29, of Stockton, Lonel Pascan, 28, of Riverbank; Daniel Bennett, 39, of Stockton; and David Bennett, 27, of Stockton.