Ghost gun trafficking ring busted in Montgomery County, prosecutors say

Nine men who prosecutors say ran a gun-trafficking ring that bought and sold guns across the Philadelphia region, including machine guns and untraceable ghost guns, have been charged with firearms violations, conspiracy, and related crimes, Montgomery County authorities said Tuesday.

In many cases, prosecutors said, the men made the guns “exponentially more deadly” by using 3D printers to make switches, which convert handguns into automatic weapons and to produce silencers.

“Now we have ‘silent machine guns’ in our communities, some without serial numbers,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele. “The risk to community members and law enforcement officials across Montgomery County, across the commonwealth and across the United States is simply unmeasurable.”

According to detectives, when tested, the guns equipped with switches could fire 18 rounds in just more than two seconds and made semi-automatic weapons fully automatic. Like machine guns, the devices are illegal to possess or sell without a special license.

The scope of the operation was wide. The men, who range in age from 18 to 36, purchased 31 firearms at gun stores across eight counties, and prosecutors say they cumulatively made 46 illegal transfers.

The investigation began in early February 2024, when one of the men, James Hiller, of Pottstown, was stabbed by a potential buyer while trying to sell an illegal gun. From that one botched sale, the investigation expanded over the course of several months to include nine defendants.

Police documented dozens of text messages between the men that police say show them coordinating illegal sales of store-bought guns, planning the construction of guns with switches, silencers, or without serial numbers, and comparing prices and negotiating sales and trades for the weapons on the black market.

The men also shared schematics found online for how to 3D print the switches and silencers, and shared photographs of their making the devices. Prosecutors identified Lucas Groff, of Boyertown, as the 3D printing “expert” — the device used for printing was at his house.

“This criminal organization’s aim was to profit from providing criminals with firearms altered to achieve optimal destruction while avoiding law enforcement detection,” said Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry. “I applaud the calculated collaboration from law enforcement, which was necessary to uncover and take down what was a very sophisticated and dangerous network of offenders.”

In addition to Hiller and Groff, those charged were Michael Needling, Keith Chaney, Desmond Bennett, Maleec Borders, Ryan Stoudt and Horace Keiffer, all of Pottstown, and Nathaniel Arroyo of Birdsboro, Pennsylvania.