Chicago custom officers seized more than 1,500 Glock switches to turn guns fully automatic last year

CHICAGO (CBS) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Tuesday that its officers seized more than 1,500 devices to turn weapons fully automatic throughout last year.

The agency said its officers seized 473 shipments containing 1,507 weapon-modifying devices from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2024.

The agency said it stopped 155 shipments containing 354 Glock switches — which modify semiautomatic weapons to make them fully automatic — between January and June. In July, August and September alone, CBP officers seized 241 shipments containing a total of 948 switches. Customs officials did not provide specific seizure figures for subsequent months.

Most of the Glock switch shipments had come from China, and were destined for various locations throughout the U.S., officials said.

The agency shared three images of Glock switches its officers seized in Chicago.

“These seizures clearly illustrate how closely CBP examines import manifests and identifies items that could potentially harm our nation or our citizens,” LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, director of field operations for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Chicago Field Office, said in a news release. “Using their targeting experience, they’re able to consistently spot new shipping trends and keep these dangerous devices out of the hands of criminals. There are reasons these items are illegal.”

The agency said automatic fire conversion switches for handguns are not legal to use or possess. They allow users to pull and hold the trigger to fire as many rounds as possible.

The devices can be ordered online or made by 3D printers, officials said. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives restricts their importation.

Late last year, multiple states sued Georgia-based Glock Inc. for allegedly turning a “blind eye” to how easily switches can turn handguns into fully-automatic weapons.

contributed to this report.