Thread: Gun store's trial has cross-border echoes

Gun store's trial has cross-border echoes

Case targets dealers who sell firearms to Mexican drug gangs

By Joel Millman

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
3:00 a.m. March 8, 2009

PHOENIX — An Arizona gun shop has gone on trial in state court in what law enforcement officials are calling a landmark case against gun dealers who sell weapons that end up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels, fueling horrific violence south of the border that killed more than 6,000 people last year.

Jury selection began last week in the trial of X-Caliber Guns LLC, accused of knowingly selling hundreds of weapons, mostly AK-47s, to buyers who were posing as fronts for Mexican drug gangs. The store's owner, George Iknadosian, 47, has maintained his innocence in court filings.

While the United States has long pressed Mexico to stop the flow of illegal drugs such as cocaine from crossing the border heading north, Mexico has complained that the United States doesn't stop the flow of guns heading south. Mexican and U.S. officials estimated that more than 90 percent of the weapons used by Mexican drug cartels come from the United States.

Consider what happened last year in the Mexican border city of Nogales.
The chief of the Sonora state anti-drug unit, Juan Manuel Pavon, was slain by cartel hit men hours after attending a U.S. seminar on how to resist the tide of American firearms surging into Mexico. Several weapons linked to the crime traced back to X-Caliber Guns. Also, a pistol traced to X-Caliber was recovered in January 2008 when Mexican police arrested Alfredo Beltran Leyva, a top lieutenant of Joaquin “Shortyâ€

So it is a business or corporation selling the guns. It is not you and me.

Lying on the form is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. But ATF agents in Phoenix said buyers in the X-Caliber case were paid a fee to run that risk – up to $100 on each transaction.

That is still a lot of people filling out false papers and for $100.00 a shot to get those kind of numbers of guns. Defintely not worth any ten years in prison. Of course we are talking about criminals here!

We already have gun controls and laws. We do not need anymore. A criminal will get the arms no matter how many laws they pass on the American citizens. I am sure there must be other places in this world that arms can be bought for the right price and for as much money as these cartels evidentally have it would be no problem for them.

If U.S. gun stores and people at U.S. gun shows hadn't sold guns to these Mexican Drug Gangs they wouldn't now be a threat to us.

Trial of Phoenix gun seller to start today

Prosecutors say guns reached Mexico gangs

by Dennis Wagner - Mar. 9, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Law-enforcement agents on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border will be watching closely today as a Valley businessman accused of supplying assault rifles to Mexican drug cartels goes on trial.

The case has drawn international attention as a landmark effort against gunrunning and because of the cooperative work between Mexican and U.S. authorities. Mexican prosecutors sat in on suspect interviews and provided investigative materials for the case.

Court papers claim dealers in Arizona and other states bordering Mexico provide three- quarters of the black-market firearms to Mexico, a nation that strictly controls gun ownership. Phoenix is considered a hub for illegal exportation of AK-47s, SKS rifles, .50-caliber rifles and other weapons favored by narcotics gangsters.

Authorities hope to stem the flow of weapons, which are bought at stores and gun shows and then smuggled into Mexico, by cracking down on illegal sales at gun stores.

In Phoenix, a store called X-Caliber was raided last year after multiple weapons in Mexican shootouts were traced back to the store. Owner George Iknadosian, 47, is accused of selling more than 700 "weapons of choice" to straw buyers, knowing that the firearms were bought on behalf of narcotics syndicates.

His co-defendants have pleaded guilty, with most getting reduced charges and sentences in return for cooperation with the prosecution.

"The important part of this case is the number of weapons that ended up at crime scenes in Mexico," Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said. "There's no question that he (Iknadosian) was a specialist. He was able to get the weapons they wanted in the volumes they needed."

Iknadosian has pleaded not guilty to charges of forgery, fraud, money laundering and operating a criminal syndicate. Defense filings in a related civil forfeiture case suggest that any violation of law stemmed from a misinterpretation of federal regulations. His trial before Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Robert Gottsfield is expected to run nearly three weeks.

A year ago, Goddard signed a pact to fight organized crime with about two dozen attorneys general from both sides of the border. Mexican law enforcement sought U.S. help in tracking firearms after weapons used in cartel battles with police were traced to Arizona.

More than 6,000 people were killed in drug violence south of the U.S. border last year, Goddard's office said. Prosecutors believe that illegal arms from America figure prominently in those slayings and in the killings of 2,000 Mexican law officers.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reports that 7,700 guns recovered in Mexico last year were traced to American sales, more than double the number in 2007.

In one case, Mexican police records say, eight federales were killed in a firefight with gangsters who outgunned the police using weapons from X-Caliber.

More firearms from the store were involved in a Nogales ambush that took the life of Sonora's chief anti-narcotics agent, Goddard said.

Some of the gunrunners, who also worked as Valley supermarket employees, told investigators they sold the weapons directly to Mexican police on the streets of Nogales. A Colt .38 Super, one of the most powerful auto-loading pistols made, was confiscated during the arrest of Alfredo "El Mochomo" Beltran Leyva, a narco captain who oversaw drug transportation, money laundering, bribery and paramilitary units for a major cartel, according to Mexican police records.

Iknadosian, a native of Egypt, had been a gun dealer in California until 2004. Prosecutors say he moved to Arizona for its more lenient firearm regulations.

In May, after an 11-month probe, Phoenix police and ATF agents raided Iknadosian's business and Glendale residence, seizing about 1,300 weapons.

Iknadosian and nine co-defendants - suspected of being buyers for the cartels - were charged in a 21-count indictment.

In civil court, the state is seeking to take Iknadosian's real estate, bank accounts, firearms and other property, alleging that X-Caliber took in $373,640 from illicit gun sales. Iknadosian is contesting the forfeiture. His court response says the sale of 711 rifles and pistols sold over a 21-month period represents normal business for Phoenix-area gun shops.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... s0309.html

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John, forgive me but this is an absurdly naive statement. Do you honestly think that criminal drug gangs couldn't get the weapons they wanted somewhere else? If you answer, "yes, but it would be harder for them to get these weapons if they couldn't get them in the U.S."... then this is the typical answer by anti gun advocates. Why do you suppose people who use "illegal drugs" can get them even though they are illegal? Answer...if you want something bad enough you'll find a way to get it. By the way, I go to gun shows and have recently bought two very nice weapons.

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

If U.S. gun stores and people at U.S. gun shows hadn't sold guns to these Mexican Drug Gangs they wouldn't now be a threat to us.

Very good article here if you want to read: http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-148950.html

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

If U.S. gun stores and people at U.S. gun shows hadn't sold guns to these Mexican Drug Gangs they wouldn't now be a threat to us.

Gun store's trial has cross-border echoes

Case targets dealers who sell firearms to Mexican drug gangs
By Joel Millman

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
3:00 a.m. March 8, 2009

PHOENIX

Originally Posted by TexasBorn

Very good article here if you want to read: http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-148950.html

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

If U.S. gun stores and people at U.S. gun shows hadn't sold guns to these Mexican Drug Gangs they wouldn't now be a threat to us.

While we're reading:

U.S. Is Arms Bazaar for Mexican Cartels - NYTimes.comU.S. Moves Against Top Mexican Drug Cartel (February 26, 2009) .... Mr. Iknadosian gave advice about how to buy weapons and smuggle them to a person who ...
www.nytimes.com/2009/02/26/us/26borders ... wanted=all - Similar pages

More results from www.nytimes.com »
U.S. guns arm Mexican drug cartels - Los Angeles TimesAug 10, 2008 ... U.S. guns arm Mexican drug cartels. Licensed weapons dealers are ... say drug traffickers were giving him stacks of cash to buy the guns, ...
www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation ... 7661.story - 66k - Cached - Similar pages

News results for drug cartels buy weapons in u.s.
US military chief to offer help to Mexico in violent drug war - Mar 4, 2009
Mullen in a speech last month cited years of US assistance to Colombia, with military aid only one element, as a successful model for tackling drug cartels. ...AFP - 540 related articles »
US corruption fuels drug trade: Mexican president - Taipei Times - 252 related articles »Mexican drug war spilling into US - AFP - 20 related articles »

Green Change : US is arms bazaar for Mexican drug cartelsDrug gangs seek out guns in the United States because the gun-control laws ... In one transaction, Mr. Iknadosian gave advice about how to buy weapons and ...
www.greenchange.org/article.php?id=4052 - 41k - Cached - Similar pages

ABC News: U.S. Guns Arming Mexican Drug Gangs; Second Amendment to ...Apr 22, 2008 ... "It's virtually impossible to buy a firearm in Mexico as a ... WATCH: U.S. Guns: Drug Gangs' Weapons of Choice ... of high-powered weapons seized from the drug cartels to gun dealers in Texas, California and Arizona. ...
abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=4695848&page=1 - Similar pages

FOXNews.com - Mexican Drug Cartels Armed to the Hilt, Threatening ...Feb 4, 2009 ... It is with this array of superior weapons that drug cartels are ... who legally purchase weapons at gun shops and gun shows in the U.S. The ...
www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,487911,00.html - 50k - Cached - Similar pages

50 Mexican cartel suspects held in U.S. - Focus on Mexico- msnbc.comFeb 26, 2009 ... Mexican drug cartels are shipping more than massive quantities of ... weapons are obtained from dealers and gun shows in the U.S. NBC's Mark ...
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29389404/ - 51k - Cached - Similar pages

U.S. gun dealers arming Mexican drug cartels - International ...Feb 26, 2009 ... US gun dealers arming Mexican drug cartels. ... Mexican civilians must get approval from the military to buy guns and they cannot own ... The Mexican authorities say they seized 20000 weapons from drug gangs in 2008, ...
www.iht.com/articles/2009/02/26/america/border.php - 61k - Cached - Similar pages

U.S. sweep said to cripple Mexico drug cartel | U.S. | ReutersFeb 25, 2009 ... But the cartel violence shows no signs of easing. The cartels are believed to use profits from U.S. drug sales to buy weapons in the United States ... www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE51O6ZP20090225 - 59k - Cached - Similar pages