Editor’s Note: The organizations and strategies of gun traffickers, tobacco traffickers and narcotics traffickers have merged. See, US Department of State, http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/rm/2014/227612.htm
From: The Conversation
The San Bernardino massacre is unique in several respects, but it does bring into focus an important issue with broad relevance: how do dangerous people obtain guns, and what should the police and courts be doing to make those transactions more difficult?
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What appears to be true is that there are few big operators in this domain. The typical trafficker or underground broker is not making a living that way, but rather just making a few dollars on the side. The supply chain for guns used in crime bears little relationship to the supply chain for heroin or cocaine and is much more akin to the supply chain for cigarettes and beer that are diverted to underage teenagers.
