North Chicago man arrested on weapons charges; ‘We’ve disrupted a dangerous operation’

A North Chicago man has been charged with illegal weapons sales, including selling kits to convert firearms into machine guns, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Eric Raines-Sylvestre, 20, of the 2000 block of Sherman Avenue, was taken into custody on gun-sale and other charges handed down earlier this month by a statewide grand jury, police said.

The sheriff’s office said it learned through a tip that Raines-Sylvestre was illegally selling weapons. Those sales included “ghost guns,’’ which do not have a serial number and were made with parts produced on a 3-D printer, police said.

During an undercover operation that spanned several months, agents bought 10 guns from Raines-Sylvestre along with 26 kits to convert guns into fully automatic firearms, police said.

Raines-Sylvestre was taken into custody following a traffic stop Monday, police said.

Sheriff John Idleburg credited the Special Investigations Group and federal ATF agents for the arrest.

“Together, we’ve disrupted a dangerous operation and held an illegal firearms dealer accountable,” he said.

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