A 10-month investigation led to the bust of a gun trafficking ring that stretched from South Carolina to Brooklyn.

The Brooklyn District Attorney's Office partnered with the NYPD for the investigation, which they say may have saved hundreds of lives. Thirty-eight guns, including some assault weapons, were taken off the streets of Bushwick, Bed-Stuy and East New York.

The investigation involved an undercover detective buying the guns on 11 different occasions. Police say nine of the guns were stolen, and one was used in a crime.

"One of the guns was actually taken off a homicide victim," says Brian Gill, the NYPD's deputy inspector. "The man was shot, and whoever shot him stole his gun."

The rest of the guns were purchased legally in South Carolina and Virginia and then were sold illegally in Brooklyn.

Three men were indicted, including Darryl Currie, 49 of Queens; Craig Darby, 46, of South Carolina; and Markie Brown, 44, of Bed-Stuy.

Investigators say the suspects were bold, conducting transactions in heavily trafficked areas like Broadway Junction. Detectives learned that heroin was also being sold through Currie and two other men.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez says he got word that at least 40 guns were expected to be shipped, but police caught a break when Darby was arrested.

All three men were charged with multiple degrees of criminal sale of a firearm.