BOSTON (WHDH) - A Tyngsboro police officer and a Chinese national were arrested Wednesday after authorities say they illegally modified firearms and sought to build a shooting range to serve regional and international customers.
Daniel Whitman, 36, of Pelham, New Hampshire, and Bin Liu, 49, a Chinese national living in Westford, are expected to appear in Boston federal court Wednesday on charges of conspiracy to violate provisions of the National Firearms Act by making, possessing and failing to register short-barreled rifles, as well as possessing a suppressor without proper registration, according to United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
Whitman, a full-time Tyngsboro police officer and the owner and principal manager of Hitman Firearms, LLC, a retail gun shop in Tyngsboro, maintains a Type 01 Federal Firearms License, which allows for buying, selling, transferring and gunsmithing, but does not permit manufacturing of any type of firearms, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Lu is reportedly listed on the Federal Firearms License as a manager of Hitman Firearms and is also an investor in the store.
Whitman and Lu allegedly sought to build a large indoor shooting range called Freedom Alley Shooting Sports, which would serve regional and international customers, and offer shooting clinics and other services using funding from Chinese investors.
On several occasions, the U.S. Attorney’s Office says Lu and Whitman did run firearms training camps, consisting of shooting and tactics trainings, for Chinese tourists. Providing training to foreign nationals requires a license from the U.S. Department of State, which Whitman and Lu reportedly never applied for nor received.
Whitman and others allegedly recorded videos on a YouTube channel operated by Lu that promotes Hitman Firearms, Freedom Alley Shooting Sports and the training camps.
The pair also possessed and manufactured items that are covered by the National Firearms Act, including a short-barreled riffle and suppressor, despite not having the required license to manufacture or the status to possess firearms regulated by the NFA, the U.S. Attorney’s Office alleged.
During a search of Hitman Firearms, a complete CMMG MK9 rifle was reportedly found in the store. The shop’s acquisition and disposition record indicated that the rifle was acquired from another store in March 2016 as a lower receiver only, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. The investigation determined that the seized firearm is an short-barreled rifle since it has an 8.625 riffle barrel and a collapsible stock.
It is alleged that neither Whiteman nor Lu registered the firearm as a short-barreled rifle in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
Lu arrived at the shop during the search and gave federal agents permission to look through the vehicle he was driving, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The vehicle reportedly contained several firearms, including a Sig Sauer MCX with a folding stock attached. The shop’s A&D book indicated that the firearm was acquired from another store as a pistol; however, at the time it was recovered from Lu’s vehicle, the firearm had a stock attached to the rear, which made the weapon into a rifle, the U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges.
The firearm was reportedly never registered as a short-barreled rifle in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
Lu allegedly said that “Dan” put the stock on the end, making the pistol into a rifle.
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