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3D printer capable of making ‘ghost gun’ parts stolen from MTA railyard

A brand new, $103,000 3D printer capable of making parts for “ghost guns” went missing from an MTA railyard in Brooklyn earlier this year — and has yet to turn up, The Post has learned.

The printer was delivered to the Pitkin railyard on March 24, but was not reported missing until 12 days later on April 5, said a source with knowledge of the investigation into what officials suspect was a theft.

The MTA Inspector General has focused its investigation into the missing device on a group of yard supervisors, according to two sources familiar with the investigation.

Surveillance footage from a camera on the loading dock where the printer was delivered is “mysteriously missing,” a source said.

The device — which could be used to churn out pieces for so-called ghost guns built and sold on the black market — remains in the wind, sources said.

“It could be used to print parts for firearms,” they warned. “The lack of supervision here has cost the agency more than $100,000, and possibly put people in danger.”

In this Aug. 1, 2018, file photo, Cody Wilson, with Defense Distributed, holds a 3D-printed gun called the Liberator at his shop in Austin, Texas.
The 3D printer could be used to print parts for firearms, a source said. AP/Eric Gay

A rep for the MTA IG confirmed that an investigation is underway.

One source close to the probe said MTA workers interviewed about the printer swipe were not asked about whether it could be used to make ghost guns.

“Most of the questioning had to do with supervisors,” the source said. “It had to be a supervisor who knew what was in the box — someone who approved the order and had access to a lot of keys.

This Sunday Feb. 4, 2018 file photo shows subway cars parked at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Mets-Willets Point rail yard in New York.
The MTA Inspector General has focused its investigation into the missing device on a group of yard supervisors. AP/Mark Lennihan

“The investigators didn’t ask about ghost guns. Transit workers don’t make ghost guns,” the insider added.

“They asked workers, ‘what do you make with the 3-D printer.’ The printer is used to make parts for the train instead of going to a catalogue.”

An MTA rep confirmed the “theft” of the printer. The transportation authority — which has faced a surge in shootings, many fatal, in recent months — did not immediately comment on how such a potentially dangerous item would be so easy to swipe.

“The MTA became aware of the theft of a 3D printer from a Brooklyn train yard and took immediate action to investigate,” MTA spokesman Dave Steckel said in a statement.

“We appreciate the Inspector General’s Office also bringing its resources to determine facts that will assist law enforcement.”

MTA officials on Thursday also slammed the Supreme Court’s decision striking down New York’s 100-year-old law restricting the carrying of concealed firearms.

“The presence of guns within a sensitive place like New York’s transit system is an unacceptable risk,” MTA General Counsel Paige Graves said in a statement.

“Considering this Supreme Court decision, we have begun drafting appropriate rules to keep dangerous weapons out of our subways, buses and commuter trains.”

NYPD confirmed that officers are investigating a burglary inside the Pitkin yard, and pegged the printer’s cost at $103,000.

No arrests have been made.

Additional reporting by Tina Moore