DOJ Reports Arizona Firearms Dealer Supplied Weapons to Two Mexican Drug Cartels

An Arizona gun dealer faces charges after a federal grand jury indicted him last week over claims he supplied arms to at least two Mexican drug cartels, as announced by the Justice Department on Wednesday.

Laurence Gray, a 65-year-old resident of Hereford, Arizona, stands accused of deliberately selling weapons to the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) and the Sinaloa Cartel in 2025, according to federal prosecutors.

The State Department has classified both of these cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

On March 9, the Mexican Army conducted a destruction ceremony at the 9th Military Zone in Sinaloa, Mexico, where they eliminated 610 long guns, 92 handguns, 5,013 magazines, and 316,036 rounds of ammunition. Gray is accused of facilitating the arms supply to these notorious drug cartels. (Photo by Jesus Verdugo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Gray faces charges of attempting to support a foreign terrorist group and conspiring to aid a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Gray, owner of Grips by Larry, a federally licensed dealer, was initially indicted last year alongside Barrett Weinberger, 73, of Tucson. Prosecutors said the pair were involved in illegal firearms transactions. 

On Feb. 22, 2025, Gray allegedly aided someone in the purchase of a Colt 1911 semi-automatic pistol. Other transactions happened in the ensuing months, court documents state. 

The charges against them at the time included trafficking in firearms, aiding and abetting the straw purchasing of firearms, and aiding and abetting material false statements during the purchase of a firearm. Last week’s indictment added material support to terrorism charges against Gray.

“Mexican drug cartels extensively use straw purchasers within the United States to legally acquire firearms and illegally smuggle them across the border,” according to the Justice Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

The case is part of “Operation Take Back America,” a Trump administration initiative that streamlines efforts and resources within the Department of Homeland Security to crack down on illegal immigration, as well as to “achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to Gray’s attorney. 

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