HATFIELD TOWNSHIP, PA — Three Montgomery County residents have been arrested after manufacturing "ghost guns," homemade, untraceable firearms that have no serial numbers and then selling them, authorities said. The weapons also had suppressors, or silencers, built into them.
Tony Phan Ho, 32, and Rithga Ngoy, 36, both of Hatfield, and Michael Phan Nguyen, 32, of Lansdale, face numerous charges.
The investigation began back in May 2023 when silencers shipped from China were intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at JFK International Airport in New York. The weapons had Ho's home address in Hatfield on it, and an investigation revealed that Ho was not legally allowed to own guns due to his criminal record.
A warrant served at Ho's property turned up a shed workshop with all the tools needed to privately manufacture the weapons, including AR-15 rifle parts, firearm sights, firearm sight tools, a Polymer80 tool kit, weapon mounted lights, a Glock pistol barrel, a Sig Sauer 320P modular grip frame, assorted other firearms parts, a 3D printer, and ammunition, police said.
A scan of text messages turned up Ho's counterparts, Ngoy and Nguyen, and identified a total of 15 illegal firearm sales dating back to March 2020, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney's office.
"The true extent of his firearms manufacturing business—as well as the extent of the criminal activities those firearms were then used in—may never be known, especially since privately made firearms have no serial numbers," DA Kevin Steele said in a statement. "These ghost guns are a great danger to the safety of our communities."
The trio face charges of corrupt organization, conspiracy, illegal firearms sales, and numerous related counts.
Ho and Ngoy were arrested and booked on $250,000 bail, while Nguyen turned himself in and was booked on $75,000 bail. All three had to surrender their passports and were mandated not to hold a firearm. They did not make bail and are being held at Montgomery County Correctional Facility.
A preliminary hearing is set for Sept. 13.
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