Three Minnesota Men Sentenced For Illegally Selling Firearms On Social Media

(KNSI) – A sting operation based in St. Cloud busts three Minnesota men using social media to traffic machine guns.

The terms range from just over a year to about eight years in prison. A press release notes that 19-year-old Rafael Carter Wesley, 21-year-old Avont Akira Drayton, and 22-year-old Kyrees Darius Johnson will be subject to supervised release once their sentences have been completed.

United States Attorney Andrew Luger says his office has been investigating the Snapchat group “BLICCS&STICCS3” since 2023. Members trafficked a mix of firearms and controlled substances to users throughout the Twin Cities.

The operation started in March 2023 when an undercover law enforcement officer posted a photo of a Glock. Wesley reached out, asking if he would trade it for a “button” or “switch,” terms used for an auto sear that converts guns into fully automatic weapons. The officer said he would pay $1,000 to Wesley for three conversion devices if Wesley made the exchange in St. Cloud. The swap happened on March 27th.

Wesley then facilitated other transactions, first in St. Paul on April 4th and then on April 13th in Minneapolis. Wesley even went so far as to install an auto sear onto a weapon in front of the officers. During these purchases, officers met Johnson and arranged to meet Drayton.

Johnson was a four-time convicted felon who was not allowed to possess firearms or ammunition and used the group to push fentanyl as well.

During a meeting in May, Drayton sold the officers a 3-D-printed auto sear for an AR-15. Between March and June 2023, there were six controlled buys.

All three eventually pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of machine guns.

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