US sting of online gun part sales started with a shipment marked “fidget spinner”

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Federal authorities have seized more than 350 websites after an undercover investigation revealed that the sites were used to illegally import gun parts into the US from China. To get the illegal items through customs, the sites described the items as toys, necklaces, car parts, tools, and even a fidget spinner.

The sites violated import bans and the National Firearms Act by selling switches—which are “parts designed to convert semiautomatic pistols into fully automatic machineguns”—and silencers—which “suppress the sound of a firearm when discharged,” a Department of Justice press release said.

Some sites also marketed counterfeit Glock parts, infringing trademark laws, including a phony Glock switch that Glock confirmed to investigators was “never manufactured.”