Authorities seized dozens of cars with bogus license plates in Harlem early Friday — and netted three loaded illegal firearms in the process, too, officials said.
The joint operation between the New York City Sheriff’s Office and NYPD used license plate readers to spot the 54 vehicles with illegal and counterfeit paper license plates parked on the Upper Manhattan streets, said city Sheriff Joseph Fucito.
Two 9mm pistols and a .22 pistol were found in the cars, Fucito said.
The NYPD says getaway cars in robberies often have phony paper license plates. Seth Gottfried
Five hundred automobiles with fake paper licenses have been seized in the last five months. Seth GottfriedSheriff’s officers and cops also issued another 50 summonses to some of the vehicles’ owners for various parking and traffic violations.
The seizures were the latest in the city’s crackdown on illegal license plates that law enforcement officials say have allowed people to “circumvent all types of public safety programs.”
NYPD officials have also connected the use of paper license plates to a number of getaway cars in shootings.
The city is cracking down on fake plates, and in the latest bust, police uncovered three illegal firearms as well. Seth Gottfried
The bust was a joint operation between the New York City Sheriff’s Office and the NYPD. Seth GottfriedIn the past five months, a total of nearly 500 vehicles with phony plates have been seized, and 480 summonses have been issued, Fucito said. So far, 60 people have been charged with crimes connected to the illegal plates, Fucito added.
Authorities seized 54 vehicles with phony paper license plates. Seth Gottfried