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Feds charge 13 in gun trafficking scheme through NH.Thirteen people were charged in an international firearms trafficking conspiracy in which guns were “straw purchased” in New Hampshire, taken to Canada and used in multiple violent crimes, federal officials said.The firearms were purchased legally in New Hampshire, primarily through one business in Keene.Smugglers then moved the weapons through Vermont to a Native American reservation in New York and finally across the border, U.S.Attorney Erin Creegan announced at a press conference in Concord on Thursday afternoon.The guns were also used in crimes in Connecticut and New York, officials said.Five defendants pleaded guilty to federal firearms offenses and a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging eight others in connection with the scheme that funneled illegally obtained guns from New Hampshire through the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation in New York.“These firearms were then allegedly trafficked through New York and across the U.S.-Canadian border, creating a transnational firearms trafficking pipeline tied to violent, organized criminal activity in Canada,” Creegan said.Court documents indicate the conspiracy began around July 1, 2021, and continued through at least October 2024.Members of the trafficking network apparently recruited people in and around Keene and Dummerston, Vermont, to conduct the purchases on behalf of others who were legally barred from doing so or who hoped to conceal their identities, at federally licensed gun dealers, including American Trikes & Motorsports in Keene.Members of the Akwesasne reservation traveled to Vermont, where Justin Jackson arranged the purchase of firearms on their behalf, officials said.Jackson was prohibited from buying guns, so he, in turn, recruited Melissa Longe, Dustin Tuttle and Caleb Wilcott to get the requested weapons — mostly 9 mm and .45-caliber handguns, Creegan said.Wilcott, 23, and Tuttle, 25, were the only New Hampshire residents charged.The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) identified 51 firearms believed trafficked from New Hampshire to Canada through Vermont and New York.Some of the firearms were recovered at crime scenes involving kidnapping and attempted murder.Creegan said the guns were not warehoused in New Hampshire long-term, but were in the hands of couriers.They were all sourced in the Granite State, primarily through the Keene business by a “corrupt employee,” who facilitated the scheme, she said.“This investigation highlights the growing complexity of interstate and cross-border firearms trafficking, as well as the power of collaboration,” said Special Agent in Charge Thomas Greco of the ATF Boston Field Division.ATF identified the straw purchasing scheme, which kicked off an investigation that revealed the broader trafficking network.Prosecutors said Doug Mulligan, 80, of New Salem, Mass.— one of the five who pleaded guilty — left a note reading “ATF is watching U” on another person’s windshield while that person was attempting to buy firearms.“ATF is watching — if you traffic firearms across borders, recruit straw purchasers, or if you help arm criminal organizations, federal law enforcement will find you, investigate you and prosecute you,” Creegan said.Guilty pleas Jackson, a 46-year-old from Dummerston, Vermont, pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to commit straw purchasing of firearms, conspiracy to traffic firearms, sale of a firearm in furtherance of a felony and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.He’s scheduled for sentencing in June.Longe, a 44-year-old also of Dummerston, pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to commit straw purchasing of firearms, conspiracy to traffic firearms and sale of a firearm in furtherance of a felony.She’s scheduled for sentencing in August.Tuttle, of Keene, pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy to commit straw purchasing of firearms, conspiracy to traffic firearms and sale of a firearm in furtherance of a felony.His sentencing is scheduled for July.Wilcott, of Chesterfield, pleaded guilty to making a false statement in connection with the acquisition of a firearm.He’s scheduled for sentencing in August.Mulligan pleaded guilty in March to being a felon in possession of a firearm arising from his handling of a firearm at American Trikes & Motorsports.He’s to be sentenced in July.More indictments On May 6, a federal grand jury returned indictments charging eight additional defendants, all of whom reside at the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation.Jonathan Hart, Io-Rateka Swamp, Ranonkwatseronhawi Gibson, Tayson Terrance, Nash Oakes, Blade Oakes, Montana Cook and Conrad Oakes are facing charges of straw purchasing and firearms trafficking, officials said.Gibson, Terrance, Conrad Oakes and Cook were taken into custody May 12.Hart, Swamp and Blade Oakes are at-large fugitives.Officials would not comment on Nash Oakes’s status.Multi-agency investigation The investigation into the trafficking conspiracy was led by the ATF and HSI, and involved 10 other U.S.and Canadian agencies or departments, including those in Keene and Manchester.The Manchester Police Department assisted in the investigation by serving search warrants, Creegan said.“In this matter with probable cause, I’m looking more towards the ‘PC’ as being ‘partnership’ and ‘collaboration’ — that is one of the biggest things that brought this case forward,” Chief Matt Rourke of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police said.