His lawyer, J. W. Carney Jr., said in a statement that his client is accused of buying the guns for two friends, at a discount available to officers. The friends were licensed to carry guns and legally obtained the firearms from Karani, Carney said. According to the indictment, Karani bought a Glock model 27, .40 caliber pistol on Nov. 19, 2014 from North Shore Firearms in Middleton, and a Glock model 30S .45 caliber pistol on Sept. 5, 2015 from Precision Point Firearms in Woburn.

Adarbaad Karani, 37, of West Roxbury, entered his plea in US District Court in Boston and was released on bond, court records show. He resigned from the force in November.

A former Boston police officer pleaded not guilty Monday to charges that he used his police identification card to illegally buy two Glock pistols for civilian acquaintances in 2014 and 2015. Authorities later seized one of the guns from a reputed gang member.

On both occasions, Karani presented his police identification card and said the guns would be for official use only, the indictment said.


State law bars civilians from purchasing the two Glock models.

However, Karani allegedly transferred ownership of both guns to acquaintances through the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Gun Transaction Portal, according to the indictment

Authorities did not name the civilians , but the US attorney’s office said one of the firearms “was found in possession of Desmond Crawford, an alleged member of the Columbia Point Dawgs, at the time of his arrest in November 2015.”

Federal gun- and racketeering-related charges are still pending against Crawford.

Karani has “no affiliation whatsoever” with the Dawgs, Carney said.

He said one of Karani’s friends had reported the gun stolen from his car.

Boston police said their anti-corruption division initiated the investigation of Karani, who joined the force in 2005.


Travis Andersen

can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com. Follow him

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