Here is the more detailed story for those who want the in depth view. I don't view this as a national or ethic issue. I see this as one more spike about to be driven into the hearts of gun owners nationwide. This type of flagrant disregard for the existing prohibitions on gun purchases by one FFL will have ripples throughout the country.
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.
