In a press release on Thursday, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that New York State Police reported an increase of 104% in gun seizures from 2021 to 2022.

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New York State Police have seized 795 guns in 2022 as compared to 389 guns in 2021 and in total, 3,166 guns have been reported by all law enforcement agencies as compared to 2,181 during the same period last year.

Governor Hochul credited the State Police Gun Trafficking Interdiction Unit, which recently concluded a months-long investigation resulting in the arrest of multiple suspects of a gun-trafficking ring and the recovery of a stockpile of firearms.

According to State Police Superintendent Kevin P. Bruen, that stockpile contained 30 guns, including six assault rifles, seven high-capacity magazines, twelve ghost gun pistols and assorted ghost gun parts.

The State Police Gun Trafficking Interdiction Unit was created last summer specifically to combat illegal firearms in New York. Governor Hochul secured $2.5 million in state funds to create 14 positions with the State Police Gun Trafficking Interdiction Unit. The 2023 Fiscal Year State Budget includes $227 million in total for gun violence prevention initiatives.

In her press release, Governor Hochul stated "We continue to make real progress in our aggressive fight against the gun violence that has plagued New York. Through our support for the new State Police Gun Trafficking Interdiction Unit, we are focused on investigating and bringing to justice those who are trafficking guns into the state and selling them illegally to other criminals who are intent on circumventing the state's gun regulations."

Ghost guns have been a major focus of New York's fight against gun violence in the state, as it is difficult to track guns that are built from kits and not sold as a whole.

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