Assault weapons seized in undercover operation

Nolan Moore was arrested as part of an undercover weapons-trafficking investigation. Nolan Moore was arrested as part of an undercover weapons-trafficking investigation. Photo: Contributed Photo Photo: Contributed Photo Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close Assault weapons seized in undercover operation 1 / 12 Back to Gallery

BRIDGEPORT -- A "Street Sweeper'' assault weapon, an AK-47-style rifle and military-grade ammunition capable of piercing body armor were among the 45 illegal weapons and ammo taken off the streets in a nine-month investigation announced Tuesday.

Chief Joseph Gaudett said at a noon press conference that a task force made multiple arrests by warrant last week, and that more arrests are expected. Three arrests were announced during the press conference at Bridgeport Police Headquarters.

"I don't think we could do this kind of operation without the cooperation of residents,'' the chief said. "I think we've moved beyond the `Don't Snitch' attitude. Our mission isn't to lock people up; it's to keep people safe.''

Gaudett said that police aren't sure how the weapons made their way to Bridgeport, but will work to track their origin with the cooperation of federal investigators.

Mayor Bill Finch called one of the seized weapons, a `Street Sweeper,' "almost a machine gun capable of doing tremendous damage. These are weapons of war, they don't belong on the street,'' he said.

Gaudett agreed. The Street Sweeper and an AK-47 style assault rifle also confiscated "have a devastating capability. The rounds in the seized AK-47 would rip through a police officer's bullet-proof vest. Imagine what it would do to a group of young people standing on a corner.''

The four-member task force made up of two Bridgeport detectives, a Department of Correction officer and a State Police detective, began its work on Jan. 1, officials said.

A gun buyback program that also ran last winter collected more than 400 weapons -- including at least a dozen assault rifles-- and paid out more than $44,000 to people who voluntarily turned in their weapons.

Finch and Gaudett said the weapons seized in Bridgeport and Stratford by the Statewide Urban Violence Cooperative Crime Control Task Force were not likely to be turned in at a gun buyback program.

The arrestees announced Tuesday include Sergio Paul, 20, of Trumbull and Nolan Moore, 28, of Bridgeport in connection with the illegal sale of a Ruger .357 magnum handgun on April 4. Paul was arrested last Wednesday and Moore on Friday, both charged with criminal possession of a firearm, illegal transfer of a firearm, conspiracy to illegally sell a firearm and carrying a weapon in a motor vehicle.

Moore was additionally charged with firearms trafficking and a number of other gun-related charges stemming from the alleged illegal sale of two more firearms. One of those was a Cobray 12 gauge shotgun with collapsible stock, front pistol grip, and 20-round capacity drum, also known as a `Street Sweeper' assault weapon.

Paul has another pending criminal case related to his arrest May 7 on several other firearms charges, including theft of a firearm, officials said.

Paul and Moore are currently being held at the Bridgeport Correctional Center on $250,000 and $200,000 bonds respectively.

Jeremias Serrano, 33, was arrested on Thursday, police said, for the illegal sale of a Romarm AK-47 type assault weapon with a 30-round high capacity magazine loaded with 22 live rounds.

Serrano was charged with the sale of an assault weapon, conspiracy to sell an assault weapon, possession of an assault weapon, criminal possession of a firearm, carrying a weapon in a motor vehicle, sale of narcotics, three counts of conspiracy to sell narcotics and sale of narcotics within 1,500 feet of a school.

He is being held at the Bridgeport Correctional Center on a $150,000 bond.

Additional arrests are pending, police spokesman William Kaempffer said.

Finch urged the state judicial system to mete out "appropriate justice'' to those convicted of trafficking in assault weapons. But the mayor said help is needed on the federal level too.

"Forty percent of these type of weapons are sold at gun shows, with no background checks,'' he said. "It's time that we stood up as a country to make sure that our children and our police are safe from these types of weapons.''