A Jamaican citizen living in East Hartford was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison this week for using high-tech, 3D printers and mail-order parts to manufacture and sell untraceable “ghost guns, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Audley Reeves, 30, of East Hartford, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford after pleading guilty to engaging in the business of manufacturing firearms without a license in August.

Law enforcement targeted Reeves and John Lee Ortiz early in December 2021 based on information supplied by another criminal.

Authorities, citing, according to court documents and testimony, said investigators allegedly purchased seven handguns, a Bushmaster .223 caliber rifle and several rounds of ammunition from Ortiz in December 2021. According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, most of the guns had no serial numbers and had plastic lower receivers that appeared to be made with a 3D printer.

During the investigation, Reeves was identified as the fabricator of the guns.

Reeves and Ortiz were arrested on Jan. 5, 2022. When members of the North Connecticut Gang Task Force searched Reeve’s apartment on Church Street that morning, they apparently interrupted him in the process of manufacturing an AR-15-style rifle, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Officers also found six fully assembled firearms, approximately 25 partially assembled firearms, three high-capacity magazines, various firearm parts, and tools used to construct firearms, the U.S. Attorney’s office said

Reeves, who is free on a $50,000 bond, was ordered to report to prison on Jan. 6, 2023. He faces deportation proceedings after completing his prison term.

Ortiz pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in the business of dealing in firearms without a license and one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl on Nov. 8. His sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 3, 2023.