Accused gun smuggler to Mexico acquitted

In a recent “60 Minutes” report on violence in Mexico, the country’s Attorney General expressed outrage over the ease in which drug gangs obtain arms from the U.S. “The Second Amendment was never designed to arm criminal groups” said Eduardo Medina Mora who emphasized the “shared responsibility” between the U.S. and Mexico to combat violence.

Despite the need to control arms smuggling into Mexico, there was a setback this week:

Criminal charges against a Phoenix gun shop owner accused of supplying firearms to Mexican drug cartels were thrown out of court Wednesday.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Robert Gottsfield ruled
the prosecution's evidence wasn't sufficient to support conviction based on a technical legal issue.

Gottsfield issued a directed verdict of not guilty for George Iknadosian, who faced a 21-count indictment for fraud, money-laundering and other offenses.

Iknadosian, 47, was accused of selling more than 700 "weapons of choice" to straw buyers, knowing that the firearms like A-K 47s were bought on behalf of Mexican narcotics syndicates.

Gottsfield ruled that there was insufficient proof that the “straw buyers” would use the weapons to arm criminals. Nevertheless, prosecutors in Arizona said that they will appeal the verdict and hope to retry Iknadosian.

According to the New York Times, thousands of arms are smuggled from Arizona to Mexico due to the state’s “lenient gun laws and large number of dealers.”

Image- Daily Mail (Weapons seized during a major arms bust in Mexico last November)
Online Sources- New York Times, The Latin Americanist, IHT, Reuters, AlterNet