Weapons traffickers supplying Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel have sharply increased shipments from the United States, with demand fueled by cartel warfare and financed through a growing cross-border smuggling business that now moves hundreds of firearms at a time, The New York Times reported.

Smugglers tied to the cartel are sourcing guns from U.S. gun stores, gun shows, private sales, websites, and apps, then moving them into Mexico through trucks, private planes, and boats, the newspaper said. One Phoenix-based trafficker told the NYT he is now handling as many as 200 firearms orders a week, roughly double his previous volume, while another said he has recently been moving about 240 firearms a month across the border.

The financial dimension of the trade appears to be expanding alongside demand. According to the Times, cartel factions under pressure from Mexican government operations and internal conflict are redirecting cash toward weapons purchases, with one operative saying “all the money that comes in is being spent” on payroll, food, vehicles, bribes, and arms. 

He said his faction had even begun trading fentanyl for weapons with a major U.S. supplier because it was short of cash, according to the report. 

Smugglers described bribery as central to the pipeline. One Mexico-based smuggler who spoke to the Times said that his American accomplice pays bribes to U.S. officials, including agents in U.S. Customs and Border Protection, to ensure that shipments arrive without a hitch.

Two Phoenix-based traffickers said they had begun bribing gun store employees, managers, and owners, with some allegedly inflating prices, taking 10 percent kickbacks, falsifying records, and reusing customer information to conceal off-the-books sales, the newspaper said.

Mexican authorities estimate that as many as 500,000 guns are smuggled from the United States into Mexico each year, while a former ATF agent cited by the NYT said the number could reach 1 million annually. 

Read more at The New York Times