NEW CASTLE, DE — A routine traffic stop late Wednesday night led to the arrest of a New Castle man after police allegedly uncovered a loaded “ghost gun” and dozens of bags of suspected heroin and fentanyl inside his vehicle, authorities announced.
According to the New Castle County Police Department, the incident occurred on July 29, 2025, at approximately 11:23 p.m., when patrol officers from the department’s D-Squad initiated a stop on a Kia Sportage for operating with a suspended registration.
The driver, identified as 20-year-old Quadir Sanders-Smith of New Castle, was the sole occupant of the vehicle and reportedly unable to provide valid proof of insurance. Due to the vehicle’s registration and insurance violations, officers requested a tow truck and began conducting a standard inventory of the vehicle prior to towing.
During that inventory, police say they discovered a loaded 9mm handgun lacking both a manufacturer’s mark and serial number—qualifying the firearm as an undetectable “ghost gun.” Officers also allegedly recovered 28 bags containing suspected heroin/fentanyl.
Sanders-Smith was taken into custody without incident and transported to New Castle County Police headquarters, where he was charged with multiple felony and misdemeanor offenses, including:
- Felony possession of a large-capacity magazine
- Felony possession of a firearm by a person under 21
- Felony possession of an undetectable firearm
- Felony carrying a concealed deadly weapon
- Felony possession of a deadly weapon
- Misdemeanor possession of a controlled or counterfeit substance
- Misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia
- Misdemeanor failure to have required insurance
- Violation of using a fictitious or canceled registration
Following arraignment in Justice of the Peace Court 11, Sanders-Smith was committed to the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution in lieu of $49,000 cash bail.
It is important to note that all charges are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The investigation is ongoing.
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