PHOENIX — A Phoenix gun store raided by federal and state officials Tuesday provided hundreds of assault rifles and other guns to violent drug cartels in Mexico, where such weapons are used in deadly confrontations between rival cartels and against law enforcement officers, officials said.
The gun store's owner, George Iknadosian, 46, was arrested following the raid, as were two Mexican brothers who authorities say recruited "straw buyers" to go into X Caliber Guns and purchase weapons that would then be trafficked to the drug cartels.
Iknadosian knew where the guns would end up, said Carlos Baixauli, a special agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. He said Iknadosian sold at least 650 firearms to drug cartels through the straw buyers.
"This is not just taking guns to Mexico," Phoenix police Assistant Chief Andy Anderson said. "This is putting guns in the hands of drug dealers and human smugglers. ... This is a despicable crime."
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Arizona ATF Chief Bill Newell called the seizure of 1,300 weapons from X Caliber and Iknadosian's Glendale home rare and important, saying it takes only one gun to kill someone.
"There's a war going on in Mexico, and it's a war between the drug cartels themselves, against law enforcement, against the military — and make no mistake about it, it affects us here along the border, as well," Newell said. "We share this border and we share this problem."
The investigation into X Caliber Guns began 11 months ago after authorities traced some guns involved in crimes, including homicide, in Mexico to the store, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said.
Since then, undercover ATF agents and Phoenix police detectives have gone into X Caliber and bought guns after indicating they were to be trafficked to Mexico, Baixauli said.
Agents raided the store Tuesday and arrested Iknadosian and the two Mexican brothers.
Baixauli said the brothers, identified as Hugo Miguel Gamez, 26, and Cesar Bojorguez Gamez, 28, worked for a major Mexican drug cartel and were legally living in the United States.
The three were in the custody of Phoenix police and face charges including conducting an illegal enterprise, misconduct involving weapons, money laundering, forgery and fraudulent schemes.
