Arizona gun dealer armed two Mexican drug cartels, DOJ says

An Arizona firearms trader was indicted past week by a national expansive assemblage amid allegations that helium provided weapons to astatine slightest 2 Mexican cause cartels, the Justice Department said Wednesday. 

Laurence Gray, 65, of Hereford, Ariz., knowingly provided firearms to the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) and the Sinaloa Cartel successful 2025, national prosecutors said. 

Both cartels person been designated by the State Department arsenic overseas violent organizations. 

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The Mexican Army destroyed 610 agelong guns and 92 handguns, arsenic good arsenic 5,013 magazines and 316,036 rounds of ammunition during an authoritative ceremonial astatine the 9th Military Zone successful Sinaloa, Mexico, connected March 9. An Arizona weapon trader is charged with providing weapons to 2 Mexican cause cartels.  ( Jesus Verdugo/Anadolu via Getty Images)

He is charged with attempting to supply worldly enactment to a overseas violent enactment and conspiracy to supply enactment to a designated overseas violent organization. 

Gray, proprietor of Grips by Larry, a federally licensed dealer, was initially indicted past twelvemonth alongside Barrett Weinberger, 73, of Tucson. Prosecutors said the brace were progressive successful amerciable firearms transactions. 

On Feb. 22, 2025, Gray allegedly aided idiosyncratic successful the acquisition of a Colt 1911 semi-automatic pistol. Other transactions happened successful the ensuing months, tribunal documents state. 

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The charges against them astatine the clip included trafficking successful firearms, aiding and abetting the straw purchasing of firearms, and aiding and abetting worldly mendacious statements during the acquisition of a firearm. Last week's indictment added worldly enactment to coercion charges against Gray.

"Mexican cause cartels extensively usage straw purchasers wrong the United States to legally get firearms and illegally smuggle them crossed the border," according to the Justice Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

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The lawsuit is portion of "Operation Take Back America," a Trump medication inaugural that streamlines efforts and resources wrong the Department of Homeland Security to ace down connected amerciable immigration, arsenic good arsenic to "achieve the full elimination of cartels and transnational transgression organizations (TCOs), and support our communities from the perpetrators of convulsive crime."

Fox News Digital has reached retired to Gray's attorney.