HOUSTON – A known gun dealer from Houston has pleaded guilty to selling guns notoriously known as weapons of choice for Mexican drug cartels.
SMART GUNS: Looking at the future of gun ownership through Texas lenses
Recommended Videos
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Texas, Nicah Anderson, 44, of Cypress, was the owner and operator of NE Guns located on Northwest Freeway. The business has since shut down but prosecutors say between Dec. 2022 and March 2023, someone bought at least 41 firearms from Anderson’s store.
The buyer didn’t personally purchase the guns but used “straw purchasers” to get the weapons before carrying them out of NE Guns and reselling them. Investigators say Anderson knew about this arrangement beforehand.
EXPLAINER: Facts about straw purchases of weapons, and what’s being done to stop them
The firearms sold were described by prosecutors as “known weapons of choice for Mexican drug cartels.” U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani took it further in his press statement, saying “Weapons of war, including a .50 caliber gun, walked out of Nicah Anderson’s gun store in the arms of straw purchasers, and he knew it.”
After executing a search warrant in July 2023, law enforcement officials seized 266 firearms. The arsenal also military-grade sniper rifles, FN SCAR 17S, .308 Caliber rifles, and 9-millimeter pistols. 138,940 rounds of ammunition, 7 silencers as well as NE Guns’ business records were also seized.
SUGGESTED: Texas AG sues Biden administration, ATF for banning private firearm sales
A closer look into the books led investigators to discover between Oct. 2022 - Aug. 2023, NE Guns received $115,000 from suspected straw purchasers.
“Investigations such as these stop illegal firearms trafficking at the source,” Hamdani said. “Because of gun violence in large cities like Houston, there is absolutely no place or patience for gun dealers like Anderson who seek to profit from illegal straw purchases.”
“This investigation is a clear illustration of the importance of investigating illegal firearms trafficking,” Special Agent in Charge Michael Weddel of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) added. “Firearms trafficking is a direct contributor to the gun violence that we fight every day. This defendant chose profit over helping to maintain the safety of the general public and will be held accountable for those repeated decisions.”
U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison accepted Anderson’s guilty plea and the 44-year-old will serve a two-year prison sentence starting October 24. Until then, he will be on bond.