Harlem Gun Trafficker Who Brought Firearms From NC Is Arrested: DA

HARLEM, NY — A man who trafficked guns from North Carolina and sold them on the streets of Harlem to an undercover cop has been arrested, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Wednesday.

Zaquan Gaillard, 32, of Red Springs, N.C., faces 17 different felony counts for the gun sales, which occurred between December 2021 and April 22, according to prosecutors.

Gaillard purchased his weapons from suppliers in North Carolina and from pawn shops in South Carolina, according to prosecutors, citing documents and statements made in court.

Gaillard would drive the weapons up from his home state and into Manhattan, where he met with an undercover officer "in broad daylight" in the agent's car — at West 149th Street and Convent Avenue or 149th and Amsterdam Avenue, prosecutors said.

Before the sales, Gaillard would text photos of the firearms to the undercover officer and then negotiate a price and date for the sale, Bragg's office said. Wiretapped phone calls also showed that he sold the guns for twice what he paid for them, prosecutors allege.

All told, Gaillard sold 16 semi-automatic pistols worth more than $28,000 before Wednesday, when he was arrested after selling two more guns to the officer, prosecutors say.

Gaillard's arrest came one day after authorities indicted Tyreke Colon, who was likewise accused of trafficking guns from North Carolina to Harlem — in his case, allegedly selling 36 firearms to an undercover officer.

"This is our second case this week against a gun trafficker from North Carolina, which once again puts a direct spotlight on how the iron pipeline is undermining public safety in New York City," Bragg said in a statement.

"These consecutive indictments of traffickers make clear that our office will vigorously pursue gun cases and other forms of dangerous violent crime in our city."

Besides a court-authorized eavesdropping warrant allowing them to intercept calls, investigators also used GPS location data in their investigation of Gaillard, authorities said.