Serguei Volochenko, who is originally from Kazakhstan and lived on 64th Road in Forest Hills, was charged with selling multiple firearms, an NYPD press release…
By Sophia Chang
A Queens resident was arrested Tuesday morning on charges of weapons trafficking, police said.
Serguei Volochenko, who is originally from Kazakhstan and lived on 64th Road in Forest Hills, was charged with selling multiple firearms, an NYPD press release reported.
Officers from the Narcotics Borough Bronx arrested him after a yearlong investigation called Red Dawn in which undercover agents posing as crime syndicate members allegedly purchased 37 guns from Volochenko over a series of meetings, the release said.
The weapons purchased from him included 31 handguns, two shotguns, two rifles and two machine pistols, police said.
“This individual is responsible for a continuous flow of guns into the city and onto our streets,” Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said in the release.
“He boasted of his own proficiency with weapons and violence. Volochenko had the ability and willingness to inflict injury and he was the first stop in a variety of other potential crimes,” Kelly said. “The investigators on this case displayed incredible courage in bringing a very dangerous person to justice.”
Police said Volochenko consistently arrived at meetings armed and clearly displaying weaponry. During one argument involving money, Volochenko had pulled out his gun, but the situation was handled by the undercover agent, who calmed him down.
Police also stated in the release that at other times “Volochenko volunteered his services as a hitman and also offered the use of his boat to dispose of murder victims.”
His home was raided Tuesday, where police said they recovered five weapons that Volochenko was carrying in addition to a loaded gun and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition inside the apartment.
“We took more than 40 very dangerous weapons off the street and disrupted a pipeline of criminal activity,” said Martin Ficke, special agent-in-charge with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The investigation was ongoing, and police said they expected to make more arrests.
A woman answering the phone at Volochenko’s residence Tuesday night identified herself as his wife and angrily declined to comment on his arrest, saying she had a 6-month-old baby to raise.
Reach reporter Sophia Chang by e-mail at news@timesledger.com, or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
