Undercover California law enforcement agents are prowling gun shows in Nevada, watching for attendees with California license plates on their cars. This article from the LA Times emphasizes that they’re looking for buyers bringing “assault weapons” and “high capacity” magazines back home.
However, now that ammunition is subject to a background check in the Golden State, you can bet that they’re stopping those buyers, too. And while not mentioned in the article, does anyone think they’re not also staking out gun stores near the border as well?
The black Isuzu with California plates headed west on Interstate 80 into the Sierra Nevada, eventually crossing the Nevada state line. That’s when the California Highway Patrol pulled Vincent Huey over. Inside the vehicle, state Justice Department agents found 18 high-capacity magazines, some capable of holding 30 rounds, according to court records. …
“DOJ continues to investigate information provided regarding the unlawful importation of illegal firearms into California,” including with undercover investigations, the Justice Department said in a statement.
[Former chief of the California Justice Department’s Bureau of Firearms Steve] Lindley said he attended this year’s Reno [gun] show as an observer for Brady United. Up to half of the cars in the parking lot, he said, had California plates, adding that undercover law enforcement was also on hand.
“We cannot comment, even to confirm or deny, potential or ongoing investigations or operations,” said a statement from [Attorney General Xavier] Becerra’s office.
Scott Tarbell, the organizer of the Reno event, said he welcomed the presence of California Justice Department agents and wasn’t concerned about them scaring away potential customers.
“We invite them, but they come at their own leisure and they don’t announce anything,” Tarbell said of the agents. “The only ones they’d scare away are the ones that got no good on their mind.”
– Patrick McGreevy in California struggles to keep illegal guns and ammunition from crossing state lines