Feds Bust Alleged Gun Ring Supplying Drug Cartels

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/01/26...est=latestnews

Grand Jury Indicts 20 in Alleged Gun Smuggle Ring

Published January 26, 2011

| Associated Press

Jan. 25: United States Attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke speaks behind a cache of seized weapons in Phoenix.

PHOENIX -- Twenty people face federal firearms charges for participating in a ring that bought more than 700 guns to be smuggled into Mexico for use by a drug cartel, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday.

The charges target two suspected leaders of the ring and "straw buyers" who authorities say were recruited to buy guns on behalf of smugglers.

Most of the guns identified in the indictment were sold by one gun store in suburban Glendale, Arizona. The store and its operators weren't charged.

One man is accused of buying 239 assault rifles and pistols for the ring. Another was told by ring leaders to try to get back 20 AK-47s that had been confiscated by police, the indictment states.

Dennis Burke, the U.S. attorney for Arizona, said "straw buyers" believe their purchases are harmless but should know their help for gun traffickers is contributing to violence in Mexico's drug war.

"The drug cartels go shopping for their war weapons in Arizona," Burke said.

Authorities said the ring is believed to have supplied the Sinaloa cartel with guns, and that some of the weapons bought by the group were used in shootings in Mexico. In all, 560 guns were recovered, a third in Mexico and the rest mostly in Arizona.

Many guns recovered in Mexico come from America's four southern border states. Drug smugglers seek out guns in America because gun laws in Mexico are more restrictive than in the United States.

Mexicans must get approval for a gun purchase from the Mexican defense department and are limited to guns of .38-caliber or less. Larger calibers are considered military weapons and are off-limits to civilians.

Most of the guns identified in the indictment came from Lone Wolf Trading Co. in Glendale. A man who answered the phone at the store declined to give his name and said the store and its owner had no comment.

The indictment states that Uriel Patino, who is accused of buying 239 weapons for the ring, bought all but nine from the Glendale store.

The indictment states that some of the guns bought by Patino were found in February in an SUV abandoned near the US-Mexico border on the Tohono O'odham Nation land, where smugglers exploit vulnerabilities at the international line.

No lawyer was listed in court records for Patino. Candice Shoemaker, an attorney for Jaime Avila Jr., a suspected leader of the ring, declined to comment on the indictment.

Authorities say there is nothing illegal about gun shops selling guns to people who meet the requirements for owning a weapon. But Burke expressed frustration at the willingness of some dealers to sell guns to suspicious buyers then cooperate with investigators.

"Sometimes it might be a gun shop owner saying, Hey, I just sold this guy 10 AK-47s. Of course I sold them, and now I'm going to tell you that I'm a little suspicious about it," Burke said.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has asked the White House to require gun dealers near the Mexican border to report the sales of two or more higher powered rifles to the same customer within a five-day period. The agency's request has yet to be approved.

Soooo... which MEXICAN ARMY GENERAL(s) is/are finally going to be indicted, for supplying the drug cartels with NON-serialized M16's, hand grenades, claymores, rockets, and all the OTHER things you CAN'T buy in America, much less, smuggle over the border? http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/s...onfused002.gif

What are the odds that the SS KLIN - TON II will bring THAT up, when she goes to bleat at Mexican officials next? :rolleyes:

I'm all for a free society but come on, one guy buys 230 weapons, in one shop, in a border state, and the owners never thought something was fishy enough to make one phone call? I don't want the government in my business as much as the next guy but with all that's going on down there the best thing shop could have done was have this guy checked out, if they are self regulating then there would be no need for government interference.

And before someone jumps my ass about it I'm not saying that the ATF should be called because someone buys 5 or 10 or 20 AR-15's but seriously, 230????

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jerkin

I'm all for a free society but come on, one guy buys 230 weapons, in one shop, in a border state, and the owners never thought something was fishy enough to make one phone call? I don't want the government in my business as much as the next guy but with all that's going on down there the best thing shop could have done was have this guy checked out, if they are self regulating then there would be no need for government interference.

And before someone jumps my ass about it I'm not saying that the ATF should be called because someone buys 5 or 10 or 20 AR-15's but seriously, 230????

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I think the issue is when you put a number on the amount of guns it should take to have the ATF called you open up the flood gates for other sort of restrictions, then all of a sudden were going to be in a position like NJ and NC residents who need a purchase permit to buy a handgun (I just sold a gun to a gentleman from NC and he said he had to take a psych exam before they would give him a purchase permit... i think thats BS)

CMR, I agree wholeheartedly, that was sort of my point. There should not be any regulations on how many guns you can buy before it is reported to the ATF or whoever. If the dealers would police themselves there would be no one crying about making a new regulation. I understand that is open to abuse also when a half-wit dealer calls because someone bought 10 guns over a month or two but a little common sense goes a long ways. If there is ever a law made then you KNOW it will be abused.

When one individual purchases a few hundred guns in a border State the owners of that shop had to think they were being run to Mexico at one point. If the guy bought a couple dozen guns I wouldn't think anything of it, there are people on this site that buy that many in a short period of time but I think several hundred would be a red flag and worth checking out. I'm not saying they need to kick in his door and shoot his dog but it would be worth a little investigation.