# Breaking news: 3 Army soldiers, 9 others accused in gun trafficking ring **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 4, 2022, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-3-army-soldiers-9-others-accused-in-gun-trafficking-ring/962213 "2022-04-04T01:31:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-3-army-soldiers-9-others-accused-in-gun-trafficking-ring/962213/1 "2022-04-04T01:31:00Z")
This thread is for discussion of the following news article: > **[3 Army soldiers, 9 others accused in gun trafficking ring](https://www.kwqc.com/2022/04/01/3-army-soldiers-9-others-accused-gun-trafficking-ring/?fbclid=IwAR0cyPSBn3YiUnPTshp3If4N2SEVUxS-H_e4C3F0bgCm_7uBQpIMsH54q6E)** > > The indictment charges the group with conspiring to violate federal firearms laws, among other crimes. If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison. ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-3-army-soldiers-9-others-accused-in-gun-trafficking-ring/962213/2 "2022-04-04T04:10:01Z")
Not an isolated instance. To the U.S. or any other military. Weapons are a valuable commodity. This sort of thing is present in many organizations. Things fall off the truck. My mother drove a coffee truck in Vancouver. Served the docks. She got many highly discounted items as just a casual civilian interacting with those on the job there. It is not hard to imagine how that can escalate to high levels of smuggling items of much higher/dangerous levels with hard criminal force/threat/profit brought to bare. ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-3-army-soldiers-9-others-accused-in-gun-trafficking-ring/962213/3 "2022-04-04T04:11:23Z")
Also. The U.S. military has never successfully completed an audit. So who knows what goes where? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-3-army-soldiers-9-others-accused-in-gun-trafficking-ring/962213/4 "2022-04-04T04:16:38Z")
But thank you for your service. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-3-army-soldiers-9-others-accused-in-gun-trafficking-ring/962213/5 "2022-04-04T04:21:35Z")
heh one of my 4 aunts that was married to an uncle worked at a popular truck stop on a freeway route … she said the things she was offered/could get would amaze people … when we were kids we wondered how she always had the expensive cookies for us… the Nabisco and Keebler trucks would leave a case of cookies as a tip every so often … she knew all the cereal drivers too ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-3-army-soldiers-9-others-accused-in-gun-trafficking-ring/962213/6 "2022-04-04T12:15:28Z")
I should note this quote from the article: “where they would legally purchase guns from local dealers in Tennessee and Kentucky” It isn’t like they were stealing guns from the military, as many in this thread seem to believe. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-3-army-soldiers-9-others-accused-in-gun-trafficking-ring/962213/7 "2022-04-04T12:52:33Z")
> [@Kedikat](#): > > Not an isolated instance. To the U.S. or any other military. Weapons are a valuable commodity. This sort of thing is present in many organizations. Things fall off the truck. According to the article in the OP, these were otherwise legally purchased firearms, not stolen. That three of the accused were soldiers has nothing to do with it so far as I can tell. The key takeaway for me is that this should serve as a case in point of how gun violence in areas making strides towards sensible gun control regulations may be nevertheless enabled by jurisdictions with laxer gun laws. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-3-army-soldiers-9-others-accused-in-gun-trafficking-ring/962213/8 "2022-04-04T13:24:25Z")
Yeah - not sure why the first couple of responses viewed this as the selling of military weapons. As a lifelong Chicago-arean, my question was why did they need to go all the way down to Tennessee, when IN and it’s historically lax gun laws is right next door? I thought the most significant aspect was the public acknowledgement that some of our noble military/vets are just plain thugs and criminals, unworthy of deification. Not exactly news… Awaiting the accuser’s application for VA disability. I’m sure the stress and trauma of being stationed in Tennessee made them do it! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-3-army-soldiers-9-others-accused-in-gun-trafficking-ring/962213/9 "2022-04-05T18:53:05Z")
> [@Kedikat](#): > > Not an isolated instance. To the U.S. or any other military. Weapons are a valuable commodity. This sort of thing is present in many organizations. Things fall off the truck. But this article has nothing whatsoever to do with those dude stealing guns from the US Military. This is pure “straw man dealer” stuff. The guns were purchased legally but with with purpose of reselling them to people who could not legally buy a gun. This is the sort of straw man dealing I have said over and over again needs to be stopped. > [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > The key takeaway for me is that this should serve as a case in point of how gun violence in areas making strides towards sensible gun control regulations may be nevertheless enabled by jurisdictions with laxer gun laws. Not so much. The gangbangers they were selling them to could not purchase or own a gun under Federal laws anyway. > [@Dinsdale](#): > > As a lifelong Chicago-arean, my question was why did they need to go all the way down to Tennessee, when IN and it’s historically lax gun laws is right next door? That is where they lived. You can only buy a gun in a state where you reside, in most cases. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-3-army-soldiers-9-others-accused-in-gun-trafficking-ring/962213/10 "2022-04-05T18:58:29Z")
It’s not like the military doesn’t have a firearm theft problem. > **[AWOL Weapons](https://apnews.com/hub/awol-weapons)** > > The U.S. military has several million firearms at bases worldwide. Despite measures to account for them, some disappear. The AP investigates lost or stolen military guns, including those that end up on America's streets. I don’t understand how these guys thought this was a good plan. They bought them under their own names, right? What did they think was going to happen when they started getting traced back to them from crime scenes? “Whoops! I guess one of the twenty handguns I bought went missing and I didn’t notice.” ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2022, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-3-army-soldiers-9-others-accused-in-gun-trafficking-ring/962213/11 "2022-04-06T05:19:06Z")
Thanks for clarifying. I thought this might be another instance of an actual military weapons theft instance. I read of one several years ago. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2022, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-3-army-soldiers-9-others-accused-in-gun-trafficking-ring/962213/12 "2022-04-06T18:52:26Z")
It does happen, as mordecaiB pointed out. > [@mordecaiB](#): > > I don’t understand how these guys thought this was a good plan. They bought them under their own names, right? What did they think was going to happen when they started getting traced back to them from crime scenes? “Whoops! I guess one of the twenty handguns I bought went missing and I didn’t notice.” They would say they sold them to someone in-state, and kept no records. Straw-man sales like this is the #1 way crooks get their guns. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2022, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-3-army-soldiers-9-others-accused-in-gun-trafficking-ring/962213/13 "2022-04-06T19:41:34Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > They would say they sold them to someone in-state, and kept no records. Straw-man sales like this is the #1 way crooks get their guns. Sure, but unless you are using fake IDs to buy, I think LEOs would be a little suspicious when a second or third gun turned up with your name attached to it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2022, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-3-army-soldiers-9-others-accused-in-gun-trafficking-ring/962213/14 "2022-04-06T19:56:26Z")
Of course they do. But until the ATF redefines “dealer” is it not actually against the law on the surface. Now, if the FBI etc could show that the straw men _knew_ they were selling to crooks, that would be a crime. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2022, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-3-army-soldiers-9-others-accused-in-gun-trafficking-ring/962213/15 "2022-04-06T20:17:49Z")
As with many other failed enterprises, the plan works until it stops working. And criminals can be oblivious to the defects in the plan. This sort of scheme also relies on the expectation there’s so much illegal trade happening in the commodity that the Man can’t keep track of it all and only a minority of those engaged get caught, and the odds favor you. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2022, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-3-army-soldiers-9-others-accused-in-gun-trafficking-ring/962213/16 "2022-04-06T21:00:04Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Straw-man sales … I think it’s just ‘straw purchase/sale.’ ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2022, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-3-army-soldiers-9-others-accused-in-gun-trafficking-ring/962213/17 "2022-04-06T21:42:22Z")
Sure, that’s good also.