United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Samir Ahmad, 29, of Philadelphia, PA, was charged by Criminal Complaint with firearms trafficking and selling firearms to a person unlawfully in the United States, arising from his sale of two semi-automatic pistols to a confidential informant while he was employed as a Deputy Sheriff with the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office.
According to the court documents, Ahmad was employed as a Deputy Sheriff with the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office beginning in February 2018. In October 2022, when Ahmad was a sworn law enforcement officer as a Deputy Sheriff, he allegedly sold two semi-automatic pistols and ammunition to a confidential informant. During the exchange, the informant explained to Ahmad that he was unlawfully in the United States, and that he could “get deported” if he was caught in possession of a gun. As detailed in the Criminal Complaint, Ahmad responded, simply: “You don’t got to worry about none of that.” The defendant made $3,000 from the sale of the firearms. On October 19, 2022, Ahmad was terminated from employment with the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office and arrested by federal agents.
The investigation is ongoing.
“As alleged, Samir Ahmad abused his authority – to the greatest extent possible – as a sworn law enforcement officer,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “The defendant was allegedly sold firearms on the street, and for the sake of putting money in his pocket, was willing to put deadly firearms into the hands of someone he knew was prohibited by law from possessing them. Working with our law enforcement partners, we are doing all that we can to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the violence.”
“The idea of a sworn public servant so blatantly undermining public safety is reprehensible,” said Jacqueline Maguire, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “Philadelphia is awash in illegal guns, which are being used to commit violent crimes, so every weapon we can take off the street and every trafficker we can lock up makes a difference. The FBI and our partners will continue to do everything in our power to make this city safer.”
“The result of this investigation is the paradigm of collaboration between our local, state, and federal partners,” said Eric Degree, acting Special Agent in charge of ATF’s Philadelphia Field Division. “We cannot let the gun violence we are seeing become the norm. We will continue to use our expertise to identify, investigate, and incarcerate those who commit and those who facilitate the violent firearm crimes that plague our streets.”
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 15 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General, and the Philadelphia Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys J. Jeanette Kang and Justin T. Ashenfelter.
Samir Ahmad is charged with firearms trafficking and selling firearms to a person unlawfully in the United States, since the informant told the then-deputy at the time of the purchase that they were in the country illegally, the US Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said in a release.
"You don't got to worry about none of that," Ahmad, a four-year veteran with the Philadelphia Sheriff's Office, responded, according to court documents.
Ahmad was terminated from employment on October 19 and arrested by federal agents, prosecutors said. The case was unsealed Thursday.
CNN has reached out to Ahmad's reported attorney for comment.
The US Attorney's office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania offered a scathing review of Ahmad's behavior in their memo for detention. They say that just two weeks after the shooting outside Roxborough High School, he was able to obtain the weapons used.
"The fact that the defendant had access to these guns so quickly after they were used to commit such a horrific crime speaks volumes about the danger that this defendant poses to the community," prosecutors wrote in the memo.
How he obtained the guns is under investigation, according to Jennifer Crandall, public information officer with the US Attorney's office.
According to court documents, Ahmad also sold the informant methamphetamine in one of the meet-ups.
"His ties to this community, including his family members who live here, the oath he took and the badge that he wore, were not enough to stop him from trafficking in guns and drugs," prosecutors said in a motion for pretrial detention.
"The defendant abandoned his commitment to this community long ago, when he decided that crime was more profitable and convenient than upholding the oath he pledged to the citizens of Philadelphia," the detention memo, filed Wednesday, stated.
While prosecutors argue there may have been "a time when the defendant seemingly understood right from wrong," his actions including a willingness to sell drugs and guns, "demonstrate that his moral compass is broken," the motion stated.
Ahmad was served with a notice of intent to dismiss for "repeated violations of the Philadelphia Sheriff Office directives, policies, and procedures," the office said in a statement.
"As always, the Office of the Sheriff will continue to cooperate with local, state, and federal authorities," the statement said.
The Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police, which represents both police and deputy sheriffs, had no comment.
The initial gun sale back in April landed Ahmad on the FBI’s investigative radar, and authorities trailed his actions throughout the year. On Thursday, Oct. 13, the informant met with Ahmad in North Philadelphia aiming to purchase $3,000 worth of guns in the controlled sting.
The informant was wearing video and audio surveillance equipment that captured Ahmad and the exchange of cash for the illegal weapons. The informant told the deputy that he was fearful of deportation while making the buy, claiming he was not a U.S. citizen.
“You don’t got to worry about none of that,” Ahmad assured, according to records.
Ahmad was allegedly working with another individual, who held the guns and drove up to deliver a pair of Glock pistols while Ahmad offered to sell a third weapon.
Prior to his arrest on Wednesday, Oct. 19, Ahmad sold a semi-automatic weapon and several grams of methamphetamine to the same informant. The FBI later learned that the Glocks he sold to the informant were used in the Roxborough shooting.
United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero issued a statement Thursday decrying the actions of Ahmad and hammered home her office’s attempt to quell gun violence in Philadelphia.
“As alleged, Samir Ahmad abused his authority — to the greatest extent possible — as a sworn law enforcement officer,” Romero said. “The defendant was allegedly illegally selling firearms on the street to at least one person who was not permitted to possess them, adding fuel to the already-incendiary fire of deadly gun violence in the City of Philadelphia. Working with our law enforcement partners, we are doing all that we can to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the violence.”
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