Report: Illegally imported firearms abundant in Chihuahua

By RIGOBERTO REYNOSO ATAYDE

OJINAGA, Chihuahua, Mex. – Firearms used by various organized crime groups and narcotraficantes to kill people in the Mexican state of Chihuahua are illegally introduced through formal entry ports in Chihuahua as well as 300 illegal entry points along the border between Ciudad Juárez and Ojinaga, state officials report.

According to a report called “USA-Mexico Firearms Smuggling” by the Attorney General´s Office (PGR), the firearms come from underground groups that operate along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The report, issued in March 2009, states that there are about 12,000 businesses on the U.S. side of the border that sell firearms made in the United States, China, Belgium, Italy, Japan, as well as Romania, Spain and Austria. Firearms prices fluctuate between $800 and $2,000.

Firearms seized by Mexican authorities during a drug raid.

This information coincides with a report issued by Mexico´s Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena), that states that 5,221 firearms were confiscated in the state of Chihuahua between January 2007 and December 2010. The majority of the firearms seized during that period were of U.S. made, followed by Chinese and other makes.

The following businesses and brands stand out in the report: Ruger, Colt, Winchester, Remington, Lorcin, Walther, Beretta, Sterling, Springfield, Norinco, Taurus, Imperial, Bush Master, Polytech, Glenfield, Marlin, Bryco, Smith&Wesson, Llama, Glock, Mossberg, Jennings, Mendoza, Walter and Izhevsk.

The firearms confiscations took place on Mexican soil, and in a majority of the cases, after the weapons had crossed international borders controlled by Mexican Customs and, after 2008, reinforced with officers from Sedena.