UTICA — Two men were arrested Wednesday evening during a joint operation between Utica police and New York State Department of Motor Vehicles investigators targeting fraudulent license plates.
At approximately 7 p.m. Oct. 8, DMV investigators alerted Utica Police Department Crime Prevention Unit officers that they had located a vehicle using a fraudulent Vermont license plate.
Officers conducted a traffic stop on Jay Street, where the driver became combative and argumentative upon their approach.
Police determined the driver did not possess a valid New York state driver’s license and requested he exit the vehicle.
As the driver was exiting, officers observed several open alcoholic beverages inside the vehicle and removed the other occupants as well.
Officers discovered that one occupant had an outstanding warrant for driving while intoxicated from a 2022 incident.
During a search of the vehicle, police found loose rounds of .45 caliber and 9mm ammunition.
Abdifatah Musa, 22, of Utica, was issued six New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law violations.
Osman Mohammed, 23, of Omaha, Nebraska, was arrested on the DWI warrant.
