NEW YORK (AP) - A pair of Southern gun runners charged with smuggling firearms into New York City will be spending time behind bars.
Prosecutors said Thursday that 31-year-old Walter Walker was sentenced to 20 years in state prison and 25-year-old Earl Campbell got 16 years in prison. Both had pleaded guilty to criminal sale of firearms.
The two were among 19 people busted in 2013 in a case that involved 254 guns purchased by an undercover officer in 45 transactions.
Authorities said the two men from North Carolina and South Carolina smuggled the weapons in their luggage and boarded Chinatown-bound buses known for their cheap fares.
Investigators say once the men arrived in New York City, a middleman brokered sales for guns at three times their original value.
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