Press Release
SOUTH FLORIDA MEN CONVICTED ON FIREARMS TRAFFICKING CHARGES
January 11, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Julie Torres, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Anthony V. Mangione, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, announced today the conviction of defendants Gary Roach and Laron Frazier following their arrests on international firearms trafficking charges.
The defendants, both South Florida residents, obtained handguns in Florida, Alabama, and Georgia through the use of straw purchasers. The straw purchasers would enter federally licensed gun shops in these three states, order guns pre-selected by Roach and Frazier, and falsely state that they were the actual buyers of the handguns.
In fact, the straw purchasers were actually buying the handguns for Roach and Frazier, who would smuggle the guns into Canada by hiding them in the door panels of rental cars. On the Canadian black market, the types of handguns purchased by Roach and Frazier can sell for up to 10 times their original purchase price. For example, a Cobray -11, a large handgun that shoots in bursts and generally sells for $400 in South Florida, can be resold on the Canadian black market for $3500-$5000. In return for the firearms, Canadian co-conspirators would send ecstasy pills and high quality marijuana back to Roach and Frazier, smuggling these drugs in the door panels of the same rental cars.
Federal law enforcement in several states, including ATF, ICE and the Miami U.S. Attorney’s Office, working with their Canadian counterparts in Ontario, Canada, investigated Roach’s and Frazier’s lucrative international gun-for-drug operation for nearly a year before their arrests.
Roach and Frazier went to trial on January 7-11, 2007, and were convicted on numerous firearms trafficking and related counts. Sentencing is scheduled before the Honorable James Lawrence King on March 27, 2008.
Mr. Acosta commended the efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Canadian law enforcement officers involved in the case. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys James M. Koukios and Michael E. Gilfarb.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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