M67 grenades that were supplied to Central America during the cold war has ended up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels. Agents with the United States Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearm and Explosives (ATF) have traced grenades from the United States that were originally sent to Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. Between 1980 and 1993, around 260,000 M67 grenades were sent from the United States to El Salvador.
Many of these grenades are now being sold on the black market in Mexico. According to author Ioan Grillo, the grenades are being sold to the drug cartels for $100 to $500 per grenade.
Source: Ioan Grillo, El Narco: Inside Mexico’s Criminal Insurgency, Bloomsbury Press: New York, 2012, page 217.
An investigation by the Toronto Star reported on how guns are purchased in the United States and trafficked into Canada.
The report stated that a gun would first be purchased in the United States for $150. The gun would then be smuggled across the border and sold in the City of Windsor for $800 to $1,000 to a trafficker. The trafficker would then move the gun further north into the City of Toronto, where that gun is sold for at least $2,000.
Pistols in Toronto are also available for rent for $600 per night, according to the Toronto Star.
Up to 70 percent of all crimes involving guns in Canada involve firearms purchased in the United States and smuggled into the country.
Source: David Bruser and Jayme Poisson, “Star investigation: How one U.S. gun broker moved firearms across the border,” Toronto Star, April 18, 2013.
Source: Jayme Poisson and David Bruser, “Hundreds of illegally made gun parts seized in online trafficking bust,” Toronto Star, April 23, 2013.
There are an estimated 600,000 unlicensed guns and firearms in circulation in the Philippines, compared to 1.2 million registered firearms in 2012.
One unlicensed seller was quoted by the media as offering a .22 caliber Magnum Black Widow gun for $120 (5,000 Philippine Peso) on the black market.
Source: AFP, “Guns black market thriving in Philippines,” Google News, April 11, 2013.
Police in Allahabad, India report that in over 85 percent of serious crimes in the city is committed by criminals using an illegal and unlicensed weapon.
Illegal weapons such as the Kattas, a locally produced gun, outnumber legal weapons in the city by a ratio of 12 to 1.
Between 2009 to 2012, security officials have seized over 1,200 illegally owned kattas in the city.
Source: Kapil Dixit, “Illegal arms smuggling continues to thrive in district,” Times of India, April 2, 2013.
According to a study released by the Trans-Border Institute at the University of San Diego, around 250,000 guns were purchased in the United States and smuggled into Mexico each year between 2010 to 2012. Security officials on both sides of the border seized 14 percent of the guns smuggled into Mexico.
The study estimates that up to 47 percent of U.S. guns stores rely upon some demand from Mexico in order to stay in business.
Source: Adrian Florido, “Study Aims For Fuller Picture of Cross-Border Arms Trafficking,” Fronteras, March 18, 2013.
Security analysts estimate that up to 40 percent of North Korea’s total trade levels could be made up from illicit revenue. Intelligence reports state that government agencies in North Korea actively participates in criminal rackets such as counterfeiting, production and sales of methamphetamine, and the illegal exporting of missile sales.
Source: Parameswaran Ponnudurai, “Global Bid to Cripple North Korea’s Illicit Trade,” Radio Free Asia, March 5, 2013.
According to the Small Arms Survey, there are around 650 million weapons around the world that are in the hands of civilians.
225 million guns and firearms are in the hands of military, police and other government officials.
(Price of AK-47 on the global black market.)
Source: Louis Charbonneau, “National Rifle Association vows to fight arms trade treaty at U.N,” Reuters, December 28, 2012.
Between 1998 and 2012, the North Korea Government is estimated to have spent between $2.8 Billion and $3.2 Billion on its missile program. The amount of money spent on the missile program would have been able to feed the entire country with corn for 3 years.
Source: Jane Perlez, “Despite Risks, China Stays at North Korea’s Side to Keep the U.S. at Bay,” New York Times, December 13, 2012.
There are 1.6 million illegal firearms that are circulating in the Caribbean region, according to the Association of Caribbean Police Chiefs.
Source: “US to provide $3.4 million to tackle arms trafficking in Caribbean region,” Bahamas Island Info, December 5, 2012.
At the end of 2012, the reported price of an AK-47 on the black market in Afghanistan was $1,500. Three years prior, the reported price was between $600 to $700 in the country. The price for grenade launchers, pistols and PK machine guns have also risen in 2012.
The rise in prices for weapons is caused by increased demand for firearms in anticipation of international forces leaving Afghanistan.
(See more AK-47 prices on the black market.)
Source: Heath Druzin, “Fearing post-2014 environment, Afghans buy up weapons,” Stars and Stripes, December 5, 2012.
