A federal grand jury has indicted 34 people in a massive drug and firearm trafficking ring. The indictment, unsealed this morning, alleges that defendants were helping supply Mexican drug cartels with weapons bought in Arizona.
The indictment alleges that between September 2009 and December 2010, the defendants conspired to buy hundreds of guns, including AK-47s -- the drug cartels' "weapon of choice," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office -- and illegally export them to Mexico, where they were used by drug cartels.
"Our office is committed to stopping the illegal flow of guns into
Mexico," Dennis K. Burke, U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona,
says. "The massive size of this operation sadly exemplifies the
magnitude of the problem -- Mexican Drug Lords go shopping for war
weapons in Arizona."
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, 20 of the 34 people named in
the 53-count Avila indictment were rounded up this morning. None of
those indicted are licensed firearms dealers but acted as "straw
purchasers" by claiming the weapons they purchased were for their own
use. In reality, though, the defendants allegedly supplied those weapons
to drug cartels.
"This investigation is further proof of the relentless efforts by
Mexican drug cartels, especially the Sinaloa Cartel, to illegally
acquire large quantities of firearms in Arizona and elsewhere in the
U.S. for use in the ongoing Mexican drug war," Bill Newell, Special
Agent in Charge of the ATF Phoenix Field Division, says in a statement.
"This investigation is also further proof that the 'straw purchase' of
firearms continues to be a significant problem and that those
individuals that knowingly falsify ATF firearms forms in order to supply
Mexican drug cartels with firearms have as much blood on their hands as
the criminals that use them."
In total, the charges in the Avila indictment include one count of
conspiracy, one count of dealing in firearms without a license, one
count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana, two counts of possession
with intent to distribute marijuana, one count of conspiracy to possess a
firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, 35 counts of
making a false statement in connection with the acquisition of firearms,
one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and 11 counts of
money laundering.
