A handgun and ammunition.
The government of Mexico is suing five Arizona gun shops — three in Tucson and one each in Yuma and Phoenix.
In the suit, which officials say was filed in Tucson federal court Monday, Mexico alleges that the firearms dealers “participate systematically in the trafficking of weapons.”
Mexico claims that the shops, which it says are among those dealers whose weapons are most often recovered at crime scenes, do not exercise the due diligence required of them, and that their routine sales to straw purchasers help supply gun traffickers.
This is the Mexican government’s second lawsuit attempting to stem the massive flow of weapons south of the border, which officials say is one of the key factors in the country’s alarming levels of violence.
In the first suit, which was recently dismissed by a federal judge, Mexico sued a number of gun manufacturers. Officials say Mexico plans to appeal that dismissal.
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