Nassau County police say they made three traffic stops near the city border that led to the seizing of three illegal guns within a two-hour period on Tuesday evening.

In the first incident, police tell News 12 that a car was stopped for a defective tail light, which led officers to find a 9mm gun in the driver's waistband.

The passenger also had drugs on him, according to police. Both were arrested.

Police say a car was also pulled over for tinted windows and that the driver had a loaded firearm in his car.

Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder tells News 12 that the third incident involved a driver crashing into a pole and parked car when trying to escape the police.

Police say the person then broke out of the driver's window and attempted to flee.

The suspect was wrestled to the ground by an officer. Police say he was reaching for an illegal gun that fell out of his pocket, which was potentially a machine gun modified to fire 17 rounds in one click.

That driver was not able to get to the gun and no one was hurt.

"We're making sure we're taking the bad drivers off the road, but with those bad drivers came bad people, sometimes stolen cars and guns," Ryder says.

The stops were part of the "Taking Back Our Streets" initiative by police to crack down on violations.