Three Men Charged With Trafficking Nearly 100 Firearms In New York City

 

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), Pete Gizas, and Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), Jessica S. Tisch, announced the arrests and unsealing of an Indictment charging DWIGHT FLOWERS, TERRENCE PORTER, and TALEAK HARRIS with trafficking nearly 100 firearms, including a “Glock switch,” ammunition, and approximately 700 grams of cocaine in Manhattan and the Bronx. FLOWERS and PORTER were arrested in Nassau County and FLOWERS was presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Valerie Figueredo and detained.  HARRIS was in Virginia.  The case has been assigned to the Honorable Lewis J. Liman.

“The illegal flow of firearms puts New Yorkers’ lives at risk, and we will not stand by and allow it,” said U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald.  “As alleged, Dwight Flowers, Terrence Porter, and Taleak Harris illegally trafficked dangerous drugs and almost 100 firearms—including long-arm rifles, pistols, and a machinegun—into the Southern District of New York.  To anyone trafficking illegal guns in New York City: you are on notice.  We are watching, we are working with our law enforcement partners to track these weapons and those who move them, and we will hold you accountable.”

“As alleged, the defendants built a steady pipeline of illegal guns into New York City, selling nearly 100 weapons across five transactions in Manhattan and the Bronx and creating a grave threat to those who live, work and go to school in these communities,” said HSI New York Acting Special Agent in Charge Pete Gizas.  “The determined efforts of HSI New York, as a co-leader of the Homeland Security Task Force, together with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the NYPD, and DEA resulted in the seizure of this cache, including a firearm equipped with a machinegun conversion device, and the dismantlement of this alleged iron pipeline.  Every New Yorker deserves to move through their neighborhood without the danger created by illegal weapons trafficking, and HSI stands committed to making that expectation a reality.”

“This trio of criminals thought they could traffic nearly 100 firearms and a substantial amount of cocaine in our city without consequence, but they were wrong,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch.  “Because of the brave undercover work of our NYPD investigator, these guns and drugs will never make it onto our streets.  I thank our fearless officer and law enforcement partners for their thorough work to shut down this operation, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York for their continued commitment to holding gun traffickers accountable.”  

According to the allegations contained in the Indictment and other public filings:(1)

From on or about June 2026 through September 2026, FLOWERS, PORTER, and HARRIS sold approximately 93 firearms to an undercover law enforcement officer with the New York City Police Department across five transactions, which took place in a commercial parking lot in the Bronx and on the street in Manhattan.  HARRIS supplied PORTER and FLOWERS with the firearms that they sold to the undercover law enforcement officer.  In addition, PORTER and HARRIS sold the same undercover law enforcement officer hundreds of grams of cocaine during these same five transactions.

Moreover, in September 2026, FLOWERS sold the undercover law enforcement officer a firearm with a machinegun conversion device installed.  That device is a part capable of converting a semiautomatic firearm into a firearm capable of fully automatic fire.  A photograph of the machinegun conversion device affixed to one of the firearms FLOWERS sold to the undercover law enforcement officer is below:

Photographs of the firearms and narcotics sold by FLOWERS, PORTER, and HARRIS across the five transactions are depicted below:

FLOWERS, 58, of Queens, New York, PORTER, 50, of Queens, New York, and HARRIS, 49, of Chester, Virgina, are each charged with one count of conspiring to commit firearms trafficking, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

In addition, FLOWERS and PORTER are together charged with one count of conspiring to distribute and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and one count of firearms use, carrying, and possession in connection with a drug trafficking offense, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a minimum sentence of five years in prison.  FLOWERS is also charged with four additional counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine and three additional counts of firearms use, carrying, and possession in connection with a drug offense, as well as a count of possession of a machinegun, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The statutory maximum and minimum sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge. 

Mr. McDonald praised the outstanding investigative work of HSI New York's JFK Homeland Security Task Force, the United States Marshals Service, and the NYPD.

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn Wheelock and Rebecca Delfiner are in charge of the prosecution.

This prosecution is also part of the Homeland Security Task Force (“HSTF”) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion.  The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.  Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders.  In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children.  The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. 

1. As the introductory phrase signifies, the Indictment, and the description of the Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.