SPRINGFIELD — Members of the Springfield Police Firearms Investigation Unit seized eight illegal firearms, including two ghost guns and a machine gun, during raids on Fort Pleasant Avenue on Friday.
The operation resulted in the arrest of four suspects after police executed two search warrants in the 0-100 block of Fort Pleasant Avenue at approximately 1:45 p.m.
Police had been investigating a drug distribution operation targeting 33-year-old Michael Pinkney for several months before obtaining the search warrants.
Detectives conducting surveillance at 1:15 p.m. observed Pinkney entering an apartment before law enforcement converged on the area.
Officers detained Pinkney as he left the apartment and found approximately 90 bags of heroin on him.
Police also detained 28-year-old Mercedes Wright in one apartment and 26-year-old Stephanie Peluyera along with a 17-year-old juvenile male in a second apartment.
The search yielded eight illegal firearms, six additional firearm magazines, more than $2,200 in cash, cocaine, a stun gun, more than 260 bags of heroin and more than 70 loose rounds of ammunition.
One recovered firearm was a ghost gun equipped with a Glock switch, making it a fully automatic machine gun loaded with 17 rounds.
A second firearm was a rifle capable of holding 40 rounds of ammunition.
The fourth firearm was reported stolen from Pennsylvania and could hold 12 rounds.
The fifth firearm was a ghost gun loaded with 31 rounds of ammunition.
The sixth firearm contained 10 rounds and had a partially defaced serial number.
Among the seized magazines were a 50-round drum, a 30-round rifle magazine and two magazines capable of holding 15 rounds each.
On Thursday, FIU members seized three additional firearms in separate investigations on Garland Street and during a traffic stop on Bay Street.
The unit seized 11 illegal firearms total across three investigations in approximately 30 hours.
Pinkney faces multiple charges including possession of a machine gun, possession of a loaded machine gun, and eight counts of convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
Wright of Northampton is charged with possession of a firearm without an FID card and related offenses.
Peluyera faces charges including possession of a Class A drug and possession of a firearm without an FID card.
The juvenile’s charges were not released due to his age.
