Featured Story Archive — 2010
U.S. and Mexican Government Officials Meet to Coordinate Efforts to Combat Arms Trafficking and Money Laundering
October 5, 2010
The Mexican Attorney General’s Office and the U.S. Department of Justice hosted a workshop, in Mexico City, that brought together law enforcement officials from both countries to discuss on how to broaden the coordination and bilateral cooperation efforts to investigate and prosecute two key elements of transnational organized crime: arms trafficking and money laundering. More » – En Español »
ATF Announces 7 New Gunrunner Groups and Phoenix Gun Runner Impact Teams’ Successes
September 22, 2010
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Tampa Field Division is seeking the public’s assistance in locating two fugitives who are wanted for federal firearms trafficking violations. Both subjects are considered armed and dangerous and may have fled the country. More »
ATF Announces 7 New Gunrunner Groups and Phoenix Gun Runner Impact Teams’ Successes
September 17, 2010
Deputy Director Kenneth E. Melson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) today announced the formation of seven new Project Gunrunner firearms trafficking groups during a news conference in which he and Dennis K. Burke, United States Attorney, District of Arizona, announced the results of ATF’s Gun Runner Impact Team (GRIT) initiative, a nearly 100-day deployment of ATF resources to the Phoenix Field Division to disrupt illegal firearms trafficking by Mexican drug trafficking organizations. More »
Members and Associates of the Pagans Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Arrested in Tri-State Area Sweep
September 15, 2010
Earlier two today indictments were unsealed in federal court in Central Islip and White Plains, New York, charging 17 alleged members and associates of Long Island, up-state New York, and New Jersey chapters of the Pagans outlaw motorcycle gang. Simultaneous with today's arrests, federal agents executed search warrants at seven locations on Long Island, including the gang's local chapter headquarters, a tattoo parlor in Rocky Point; two locations in up-state New York; four locations in New Jersey; and seized 34 firearms and one improvised explosive device (IED). More »
89 Defendants Charged on Gun, Drug Trafficking or Related Offenses Following 9-Month Undercover Investigation
August 10, 2010
34 federal indictments, today unsealed in federal court, have charged 57 defendants with federal firearm, drug trafficking or other federal offenses. 32 additional defendants were charged by Glynn County authorities on related state firearm and drug charges. The federal and state charges follow a 9-month undercover investigation dubbed “Operation Thunderbolt.” More »
15 Charged With Evasion of Tens of Millions of Dollars in State Tobacco Products Excise Tax
August 9, 2010
United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner, California Attorney General Jerry Brown, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Stephen C. Herkins, and California Board of Equalization Vice Chairman Jerome E. Horton, announced today that eight federal indictments had been unsealed charging 15 persons and three businesses with federal offenses relating to schemes to evade California excise taxes on non-cigarette tobacco products. More »
ATF Warns Consumers: Illegal Explosives Devices Are Not Fireworks
June 18, 2010
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) wants consumers to celebrate safely this Fourth of July and be mindful that illegal explosives devices are not fireworks. Illegal or improperly used fireworks can cause severe injuries or even death. ATF wants to make consumers aware that illegal explosives devices are not fireworks. More »
Tobacco: The New Commodity for Criminals
April 23, 2010
Tobacco smuggling is a growing problem in U.S. that has turned into a lucrative business for criminals who trade cigarettes and other tobacco products on the black market. February 2010 – an unsuspecting delivery driver made a stop at a popular discount retail store in Corona, California. He was there to replenish the store’s supply of cigarettes and other tobacco products but what he didn’t know is that lurking in the darkness were two men – watching, waiting for their moment to attack. More »
Canines in Theater
March 31, 2010
Most people know the old cliché a dog is a man’s best friend,
but for members of the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan that sentiment proves true everyday. In October, while on patrol in Afghanistan, members of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade were saved when a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) certified explosive detection canine assigned to the unit discovered 15 homemade, improvised explosive devices. More »
Remembering Prohibition Agent Killed in the Line of Duty
February 16, 2010
Undoubtedly, life was good for Prohibition Agent Eugene Jackson and his new bride of one month, Lillie. It was July 31, 1932, and the Washington Senators were playing the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park. The Senators were ahead by three runs. The Jacksons and their good friend, Narcotics Inspector James Fletcher, dressed in their Sunday finest, were passing the day together waiting to pick up Fletcher’s wife at the railroad station. More »
ATF Form 4473 — Who Handles Your Paperwork?
February 1, 2010
Each year, across this great nation, responsible federally licensed firearm dealers perform millions of firearm transactions. Whether it is selling a firearm to a first-time buyer, hunter or sportsperson, a collector, someone concerned about personal or home defense, or just a customer who wants to enjoy the great outdoors, your primary responsibility remains the same — the correct completion of ATF Form 4473. More »