Ten alleged gun runners and members of the infamous Tren de Aragua (TDA) gang indicted in Queens this week posed extraordinary dangers to the public, police and even their own family members, law enforcement officials charged Wednesday.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, and police officials illustrated the incredibly brazen behavior of which the suspects stand accused in a massive 120-count indictment.
Alleged gang member Rosemary Sanchez is accused of not only selling deadly firearms and drugs but also posting a photo on Instagram of her 20-day-old infant lying atop a pile of money she made with the criminal enterprise. As cops attempted to take her into custody, she barricaded herself inside her home, where they later found cocaine; officers managed to safely rescue the newborn and place the child in the custody of the Administration for Children’s Services.
Wrallan Meza, meanwhile, allegedly attempted to escape police custody when police moved in on him during the course of their investigation. According to Chief of Detectives Joseph Kelly, Meza allegedly trapped an officer between a door, slammed it shut, and fractured the cop’s arm to the point he will need surgery. Meza faces additional charges for injuring the officer.
Meza and co-defendant Enyerbert Blanco allegedly entered the country across the southern border and allegedly became ringleaders in the crew, prosecutors said. They and the eight others indicted hail from Venezuela, where TDA made its violent reputation.
The trail of violent behavior stemmed from an investigation more than a year in the making, according to Katz.
“Working with the NYPD, we became aware of gun trafficking in the city of New York. As the investigation progressed, we became aware that self-admitted TDA members were trafficking weapons on a large scale, and their criminality extended well beyond the five boroughs and included Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Texas, Florida, Colorado,” Katz said during a Wednesday afternoon press conference.
In an effort to showcase just how prevalent the gang’s gun sales are, officials laid out a large table inside the DA’s office topped with firearms — one of which was a ghost gun.
Police recovered 34 guns, including two assault rifles, and 48 grams of tusi or “pink cocaine” — a drug cocktail containing MDMA and ketamine, and was dyed pink.
“Eight Tren de Aragua gang members were arrested for criminal sale of firearms, two additional members, who have been indicted, remain outstanding,” Police Commissioner Tisch said.
The indictment came days after President Trump reignited deportation efforts nationwide, resulting in ICE raids from coast to coast in which more than 3,600 people were apprehended. Some 20 individuals in the Bronx were taken into custody in an ICE raid in the Bronx on Tuesday, each of them accused of committing violent crime, according to federal authorities and the NYPD.
In this case, however, Katz said she does not expect the individuals to handed over to ICE for potential deportation.
“My job is to make sure that I get the guns off the street and hold people accountable. From my perspective, they will stay here. They will stand trial. They will serve their time,” Katz said.
The 120-count indictment includes criminal sale of a firearm, criminal possession of a firearm, criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a controlled substance, and conspiracy.
While two of the defendants have yet to be apprehended, alleged ringleader Enyerbert Blanco was charged with human trafficking involving a 15-year-old girl and has been in custody in Florida since October. Oscar Sosa is also in custody in Brooklyn for an unrelated firearms trafficking charge.
