Federal agents discovered what appears to be an illegal machine gun manufacturing workshop on Wednesday in a home in Miami Gardens, Florida, after executing a search warrant that led to the arrest of a 20-year-old man.
According to a criminal complaint cited by El Nuevo Herald, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) intervened at the property located in the 3900 block of NW 173rd Terrace after tracing several shipments from China of conversion devices that transform semiautomatic weapons into fully automatic ones to that address.
The operation was made possible thanks to the prior work of an undercover agent who agreed to pick up three homemade firearms equipped with those devices, which allowed for the judicial order to be obtained.
The resident of the dwelling, Lance Ricardo Dwyer, was arrested on federal charges of transferring or possessing illegal machine guns.
Inside the house, the agents found a bag containing three homemade firearms—two with conversion devices installed and one disassembled—several plastic AR-15 style guns, a Glock-style pistol with a conversion device, four additional uninstalled devices, one gun made with a 3D printer, and two Springfield firearms.
But the most revealing element was the finding of what the report describes as a complete facility for manufacturing weapons: "a furnace, templates for making firearms, clay molds, metal shavings, and a tool whose material composition matched that of the metal conversion devices."
In the backyard, investigators found several workstations and a shooting test device specifically designed to "reduce the likelihood of shots being detected by ShotSpotter technology," the acoustic gunshot detection system that operates in Miami Gardens and alerts the police in approximately one minute.
This detail suggests a notable level of premeditation: the suspect, only 20 years old, allegedly developed a technical solution to evade local police surveillance while manufacturing and testing illegal weapons.
Under U.S. federal law, such a conversion device is classified on its own as a machine gun, even if it is not installed on any weapon. Additionally, Florida has its own state legislation that prohibits devices that alter the rate of fire to simulate automatic fire.
The case is not an isolated incident in the region. In June 2025, the ATF's Operation Showdown in South Florida resulted in 31 arrests and the seizure of 80 firearms, including automatic weapons and conversion devices, as well as around 10 kilograms of illegal drugs.
Dwyer remains in custody and is represented by a federal public defender, who did not respond to requests for comments from the Miami Herald.
His formal appearance before a judge for the reading of charges is scheduled for August 27.
Related videos:
Filed under: