3 arrested in federal 'ghost gun' operation bust in Georgia

ATLANTA - Federal prosecutors said a ghost gun operation in metro Atlanta has been "surgically removed." Three men have since been indicted and arraigned.

Jelani Kazmende, 38, of Marietta, Georgia, Wiley Martin, 42, of Acworth, Georgia, and Robert Louis Jeffords, Jr., 62, of Forest City, North Carolina, were indicted earlier this month on charges of dealing firearms without a license, possession of machine guns, possession of unregistered firearms, and conspiracy.

"Because of the combined efforts of ATF and its law enforcement partners, criminal elements have been surgically removed from the community of Marietta and placed where they belong: into the criminal justice system to be processed and prosecuted for illegal activity," said Alisha Jones, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of ATF’s Atlanta Field Division.

During their arraignment, federal prosecutors said FBI agents were able to intercept the unmarked, unregistered weapons. Early in June, Kazmende provided five privately manufactured "ghost guns" to Martin, who prosecutors called a multi-convicted felon who was on probation.

Investigators said a drop-in "auto sear device," which allows firearms to fire multiple rounds with a single pull of the trigger, was added to the guns. Those guns, plus a sixth full-auto pistol, were sold by Martin to undercover FBI agents, prosecutors said.

"With distressing regularity, we see the damage that criminals can inflict on our communities with weapons of war," said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. "Illegal guns have no place in Georgia and the FBI will continue to work diligently with our partners to remove these dangerous criminals and weapons from our streets."

Kazmende and Martin would meet again later in the month, this time with Jeffords. The trio would remove 16 privately manufactured firearms of various calibers and 17 drop-in auto sear devices from his truck, investigators said.

Prosecutors said the intention was to have Kazmende transform the guns to fire automatically and then Martin would sell them. FBI agents were able to arrest them before that happened.

"Equipped with large capacity magazines, illegal machine guns like those allegedly transported, possessed, and sold by these defendants present immediate danger to our community," said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. "To protect the community, this office and its partners will identify, target, and prosecute to the fullest extent those who peddle these weapons unlawfully."

There was no word on when the three men would next appear in court.