In 2023, Demetrio Daga made a series of perfectly legal online purchases: Glock springs, a New York-compliant 10-round magazine, and a 3D printer. Those purchases did not constitute a crime. They did, however, reportedly place him on a government-generated target list that eventually led investigators to his home.
As AmmoLand News uncovered in 2024, every two months, eBay, Amazon, PayPal, and other companies send lists of people who buy 3D printers and gun parts to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This information was forwarded to Homeland Security Investigations New York’s El Dorado Task Force (EDTF), which includes various DHS units, including the Homeland Security Investigations Financial Crimes Task Force. The information is then passed to the New York Police Department (NYPD), which distributes it statewide to police departments throughout New York.
Shortly after he made the online purchases, in June 2023, Daga was the target of a road-rage incident. A man pulled him over, claiming that Daga had hit his car—a charge Daga disputes. Daga called the state police, who responded to the scene. The officers inspected both vehicles and determined there was no damage to Daga’s car. In their opinion, he had not struck the other man’s vehicle. According to Daga, the man then produced a badge and demanded that the officer reinspect the car. The officer did so and again found no damage, sending both men on their way.
A month later, in July 2023, the same man ran Daga off the road. On July 18, 2023, Daga filed a complaint with the state police against the investigator.
According to documents, the man was a member of the New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General. The man admitted to showing his shield to the officer during the initial encounter in June, 2023, but denied any allegations that he flashed it toward Daga in a threatening manner.
The investigation lasted until August 2, when the number-two official at the New York State Police closed the case. On the same day, the state police opened an investigation into Daga for his purchases, believing he was manufacturing and trafficking privately manufactured firearms (PMFs).
Police monitored his activities for 15 months. During that time, they observed nothing criminal, but they pulled eBay purchase documents from his trash to justify the investigation. Another justification the police cited was that Daga visited a New York smoke shop known for trafficking illegal substances in December 2024. Daga claims he went to the Dunkin’ Donuts a couple of doors down. Police did seize the smoke shop, but that occurred in June 2024—well before the date police claimed in their affidavit that Daga had visited the store.
Despite the largely circumstantial circumstances, officers from several agencies pulled Daga over for a traffic violation and searched his car. Inside the vehicle, police recovered a 3D-printed handgun. The New York State Police Special Investigations Unit – Gun Trafficking Interdiction Unit (GTIU) then executed search warrants on his residence and his father-in-law’s home. At Daga’s residence, police recovered a collection of 3D printers, gun parts, body armor, and firearms that included 13 ghost handguns, 22 ghost AR-style rifles, 18 serialized rifles, and numerous magazines. Although they found firearms, there was no solid proof of trafficking.
During a meeting between police, Daga, and his lawyers, officers claimed he had taken a picture of an investigator. Daga’s former lawyer agreed to let them look through his phone. Another attorney present was shocked that the former lawyer allowed the search. No picture was found, but police examined the rest of the phone and later subpoenaed all phone records.
One call that stood out was a one-minute call from 2021. The number was tied to a 2014 quadruple homicide. To the prosecutor, this was enough evidence to charge Daga with trafficking. Daga maintains he does not know the number or who placed the call.
Daga and his attorneys also claim the prosecutor has a conflict of interest. The prosecutor previously worked in real estate at National Grid, a New York State power company. His job involved identifying structures that encroached on National Grid property and ordering the owners to remove them. He served eight residents in one neighborhood with cease-and-desist notices. The neighbors fought back with the help of a neighborhood attorney, who is now the prosecutor in Daga’s case. The court denied a motion to remove the prosecutor.
Mr. Daga is now on trial and is the latest target in New York’s crackdown on 3D-printed firearms.
About John Crump
Mr. Crump is an NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people from all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons, follow him on X at @right2bear, or at www.crumpy.com.
