Federal authorities say they’ve taken down a firearms trafficking ring operating in Arizona and Mexico.
A grand jury recently indicted 21 people for conspiracy to unlawfully buy firearms and other crimes.
“The defining feature of this investigation is that it encompasses the full firearms trafficking ring. From the fraudulent straw purchasers in Phoenix to the firearms buyer in Mexico and each smuggling link in between,” said Timothy Courchaine, U.S. attorney for Arizona, at a news conference on Tuesday.
The yearslong probe was led by a task force of agencies such as ATF and Homeland Security Investigations.
More than 125,000 bullets were seized.
“The amount of ammunition that our law enforcement partners ended up seizing totaled nearly 5,000 pounds or two and a half tons of ammunition. That’s a lot of ammo,” said A.J. Gibes, special agent in charge of ATF in Phoenix.
Authorities also seized more than 100 firearms, including at least one .50 caliber rifle.
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Tempe says the change is in response to privacy concerns expressed by the community and recent incidents with the automated license plate readers. -
ICE’s policy, issued in February 2025, says the agency will expeditiously review body camera footage in the event of serious harm of deaths in custody, and could release it within 72 hours — but only if it's determined that it’s “in the best interests of the agency” to do so. -
Apache Junction police say one of their own officers improperly used controversial technology known as license plate readers and is now off the force.
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A new federal courthouse is under construction in Flagstaff, bringing the federal court system closer to thousands of residents in northern Arizona. -
This decision comes after an internal audit revealed potential misuse of the software by a department employee.
