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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 2:39 am
Time: 2:39 am
Results for illegal arms transfer (u.s.)
1 results foundAuthor: United States. Department of Justice. Oversight and Review Division Title: A Review of ATF’s Operation Fast and Furious and Related Matters Summary: On October 31, 2009, special agents working in the Phoenix office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) received information from a local gun store about the recent purchases of multiple AK- 47 style rifles by four individuals. Agents began investigating the purchases and soon came to believe that the men were so-called “straw purchasers” involved in a large-scale gun trafficking organization responsible for buying guns for transport to violent Mexican drug trafficking organizations. This investigation was later named “Operation Fast and Furious.”1 By the time ATF and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona (U.S. Attorney’s Office) publicly announced the indictment in the case on January 25, 2011, agents had identified more than 40 subjects believed to be connected to a trafficking conspiracy responsible for purchasing over 2,000 firearms for approximately $1.5 million in cash. The vast majority of the firearms purchased by Operation Fast and Furious subjects were AK-47 style rifles and FN Herstal 5.7 caliber pistols. During the course of the investigation, ATF agents seized only about 100 of the firearms purchased, the result of a strategy jointly pursued by ATF and the U.S. Attorney’s Office that deferred taking overt enforcement action against the individual straw purchasers while seeking to build a case against the leaders of the organization. Numerous firearms bought by straw purchasers were later recovered by law enforcement officials at crime scenes in Mexico and the United States. One such recovery occurred in connection with the tragic shooting death of a federal law enforcement agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agent Brian Terry. On January 16, 2010, one of the straw purchasers, Jaime Avila, purchased three AK-47 style rifles from a Phoenix-area gun store. ATF agents learned about that purchase 3 days later and, consistent with the investigative strategy in the case, made no effort to locate Avila or seize the rifles although ATF had identified Avila as a suspect in November 2009. Two of the three rifles Licensee (FFL) is a person, partnership, or business entity that holds a license issued by ATF that allows it to “engage in the business” of dealing, manufacturing, importing, or repairing firearms. Under federal law, a person is “engaged in the business” when he devotes time, attention, and labor to any of these activities with the “principal objective of livelihood and profit through the repetitive purchase and resale of firearms[.]”6 ATF’s licensing process is intended to ensure that only qualified individuals receive a license to sell guns. According to materials provided to us by ATF, the application process includes the submission of a completed questionnaire containing information about the applicant, the type of license sought, and the business premises, among other items. Applicants must also submit fingerprint cards for criminal background checks and are advised that they should expect to be contacted by an ATF investigator during the application process. An applicant who is granted a license receives several agency publications from ATF, including ATF’s Federal Firearms Regulations Reference Guide, Safety and Security Information for Federal Firearms Licensees, and Federal Firearms Licensee Quick Reference and Best Practices Guide. ATF also provides information about various ATF and Department components relevant to FFL operations, and a summary of state firearms laws and ordinances to new licensees. ATF Industry Operations Investigators are authorized to review FFLs’ records and inventory, to conduct annual warrantless inspections of FFLs to ensure compliance with federal recordkeeping requirements, to obtain an inspection warrant if needed, and to obtain a “reasonable cause warrant” if there is evidence of certain violations. Violations can result in the revocation of an FFL’s license. Investigators also work with ATF special agents in cases where criminal activity is suspected. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, Oversight and Review Division, 2012. 514p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 13, 2013 at: http://www.justice.gov/oig/reports/2012/s1209.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.justice.gov/oig/reports/2012/s1209.pdf Shelf Number: 129396 Keywords: Illegal Arms Transfer (U.S.)Illegal FirearmsOperation Fast and Furious |