Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

BOSTON - A Lowell man was arrested today and charged in federal court in Boston with firearms trafficking related to five separate sales, including selling an illegal sawed-off shotgun.

Rathsomnang Neth, 22, was charged with one count of dealing in firearms without a license and two counts of possessing and transferring an unregistered shotgun with a shortened barrel.

According to the indictment, which was unsealed today, in five separate transactions in Lowell from December 2016 through April 2017, Neth engaged in the unlawful dealing of firearms, selling four handguns and a .20 gauge pump-action shotgun with a barrel that had been sawed-off below 18 inches.

The charge of unlawful dealing in firearms provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Each charge of possession and transfer of an unregistered firearm provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Mickey D. Leadingham, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boson Field Office, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney S. Theodore Merritt of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

###