US ATF Seizes Weapons Bound for Mexico
 KPHO.com
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Phoenix's branch of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said on Friday it took 18 automatic weapons bound for Mexico off Arizona streets before they got south of the border.
The guns were heading to drug cartels in Mexico from the U.S., said William Newell, special agent in charge, ATF, Phoenix field division.
Newell said agents found five of them strapped underneath a truck heading for the border two weeks ago. Then they found 13 more two days later.
Agents said a women made a straw purchase of 13 in Phoenix, meaning she lied, saying the guns were for her, when they were, in fact, going to a Mexican drug cartel.
"The issue is she was trying to earn some money," Newell said. "And it's unfortunate, because, now, she's in big trouble."
Newell said gun trafficking to Mexico has increased as the Mexican government tries to address drug cartels more fiercely.
"They're using firearms such as these to fight the fight," Newell said. "It's a war, is what it is. It's a war."
Newell said 95 percent of the guns seized in Mexico are from the U.S. |
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Americas & Beyond | August 2008 
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