By Betsy Scheinbart
A 26-year-old Queens man was arrested and charged with illegal weapons possession Monday after police found an arsenal of more than 30 handguns, grenades, and other weapons in his St. Albans home, authorities said.
Chandrakhand Singh, an electrical engineer who works for a supply store and is in the Army Reserves, told police he ordered weapons over the Internet auction site, E-Bay, said Detective Madelyne Galindo, a police spokeswoman.
The weapons arrived in pieces and Singh welded them back together, Galindo said.
Singh was charged Monday with possession of illegal weapons and remained in police custody Tuesday night awaiting his arraignment, said Betsy Hertzog, a spokeswoman for Queen District Attorney Richard Brown.
Police were notified about the weapons by Con Edison workers, who went to the house at 188-15 Pineville Lane to investigate an illegal electrical wire on the roof, Galindo said.
When the Con Edison workers entered the home, they observed an illegal gas line and several handguns in plain view, Galindo said.
Several members of Singh’s family were enjoying the nice weather in the yard outside their single-family home Tuesday and said they had not been aware of his large weapons collection before his arrest Monday.
His father, who declined to give his first name, said he knew his son was a gun enthusiast because he subscribed to a gun magazine. However, his family members did not think he had any plans to use the guns.
The Singh family lives on a quiet street one block from IS 59, the Springfield Gardens Intermediate School, near Springfield and Merrick Boulevards in St. Albans.
Police entered the home Monday and found eight rifles, four zip guns, nine handguns, eight starters and air pistols, one hand-cross bow, two silencers, one helmet, one bullet-proof vest, seven jars of gun powder, one smoke grenade, one trip flair, one sound grenade, several fireworks and a plethora of ammunition, Galindo said.
When they obtained a search warrant, police found eight more handguns, six air guns and one shotgun, Galindo said.
The weapons were removed from the house by a bomb squad, said Betsy Hertzog, a spokeswoman for Queen District Attorney Richard Brown.
Singh had no previous criminal records in Queens, Hertzog said.
Reach reporter Betsy Scheinbart by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300 Ext. 138.
