Long Beach man charged after FBI, police seize 23 illegal guns, drugs from home

Long Beach and Nassau police worked with FBI agents Friday to arrest a Long Beach man charged with 59 counts of drugs and weapons possession.

Authorities seized 23 illegal guns as well as cocaine, pills, methamphetamine and fentanyl following an investigation since March into suspected drug and gun sales between Queens and Long Beach.

"In March of 2026, the Long Beach Police Department requested the assistance from the FBI regarding a suspected narcotics distribution network operating in Long Beach," FBI Special Agent in Charge Mike Ratta said Monday. "The joint investigation focused on individuals believed to be transporting cocaine, fentanyl, and other controlled substances from Queens into Long Beach.

Nassau County prosecutors charged Charles Burns, 34, a known felon living on Rev. JJ Evans Boulevard, near the Long Beach Head Start school and Leroy Conyers Park, Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly said.

Burns pleaded not guilty Saturday in Nassau First District Court in Hempstead. He was ordered remanded without bail. He was represented by Legal Aid and defense attorney information was not available. 

Long Beach police said they also seized more than 230 grams of cocaine, 15 grams of fentanyl, about 536 grams of methamphetamine, 13 grams of MDMA, known as ecstasy or molly and drug packaging materials. 

Police raided his home at about 6 a.m. Friday while his wife and children were inside, FBI officials said.

Police recovered several semi-automatic weapons, including an AM-15 assault rifle, handguns and high-capacity magazines capable of holding up to 20 rounds of ammunition, according to a criminal complaint. At least three of the guns had the serial number filed off and at least one of the guns was a manufactured ghost gun, Donnelly said.

"Nobody has this amount of guns in their home if they're not selling them or lending them to other people who are committing illegal acts," Donnelly said.

Authorities are investigating if the guns may have been trafficked to Long Beach or used in previous crimes.

Police said they began investigating following reports in the community, which prompted police to partner with the FBI, accessing federal funding, phone analysis, digital forensics and operations, Ratta said. 

"We operate on intelligence that we get from the community, from our officers on the street and investigations," acting Long Beach Police Commissioner Richard DePalma said. "It was indicated to us that this person was dealing drugs in our community. So we did reach out to our law enforcement partners to assist us with that."

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.